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PUBG starts testing free version to better take on Fortnite

PUBG starts testing free version to better take on Fortnite

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Limited to Thailand for now

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Photo credit: Bluehole

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has begun testing a new free-to-play version of the game called PUBG Lite in Thailand, which is designed to offer the popular battle royale shooter that can run on less powerful hardware than the full, paid PUBG experience.

PUBG Lite is a chance for PUBG to better compete with its biggest competitor, Fortnite. Despite coming to the battle royale genre later than PUBG’s pioneering efforts, Fortnite has become an international cultural sensation due to its low barrier of entry and the fact that the game can be played on basically any device.

PUBG Lite is a completely standalone game from the paid PUBG. The company says that there will be a separate, dedicated dev team for the free version that will work on exclusive content, including maps and other features that will eventually trickle down from the paid game.

PUBG Lite minimum and recommended specifications.
PUBG Lite minimum and recommended specifications.

For now, PUBG Lite’s beta will only feature Erangel, the original PUBG map, along with Solo / Duo / Squad options. The beta is only available in Thailand, which the company will be using as a test case to decide whether to expand PUBG Lite to more regions in the future.

While PUBG was reportedly the top-grossing “premium” game last year, making $1.035 billion according to analyst firm SuperData, the fact that users have to pay to play puts it at a significant disadvantage to Fortnite, which is free for anyone to play. Perhaps not coincidentally, Fortnite made more than double the money —an estimated $2.4 billion — than PUBG did last year.