PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) hits version 1.0 on PC, leaves early access

After enjoying massive success since its launch in March, including recently hitting 20 million copies sold, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has been updated to version 1.0, marking its official launch out of Steam Early Access. That doesn't mean that there are no more issues to address with the game, but the team behind PUBG sees 1.0 as a milestone marking that the basic structure of the game is smoothed out and ready for primetime.

In a post marking the launch on the PUBG Steam Community, the team states:

The 1.0 launch marks the end of the first chapter of our development team's effort to bring forth the best battle royale experience for our players. But this is just the beginning. After 1.0 is out, we will continue to uphold our open development principles and keep listening to your feedback, as we have done through Alpha, Beta and Early Access stages of the process. Reaching version 1.0 for us means establishing the basic structure for the smooth Battle Royale gameplay of our game. Balancing and polishing in terms of gunplay, sound, animations and other features and systems will continue after launch.

To celebrate the 1.0 launch, anyone who logs into PUBG within "the next few weeks" will be treated with an in-game shirt emblazoned with PUBG's signature celebratory phrase, "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner."

PUBG Winner Shirt

Perhaps the biggest addition in the PUBG 1.0 update is the game's second map, "Miramar," which pits players against one another in a Mexican desert. The new vaulting mechanic will come in handy across Miramar, as will new vehicles and weapon types. And for those concerned with server stability, the PUBG team says it is working on solutions that would limit matches to players with similar ping, resulting in a smoother match for everyone involved.

As it exits early access on PC, PUBG shows no signs of slowing down. If you want to jump in and try the Battle Royale game for yourself, you can grab PUBG on Steam now. And if you more of a console gamer, PUBG recently launched into the Game Preview program on Xbox One.

You can view the full list of changes in the PUBG 1.0 patch notes.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl