However, there are issues with changing to a free-to-play mode. This wide availability thanks to Game Pass could be another factor into PUBG's free-to-play considerations. PUBG is also available to download for Xbox Game Pass subscribers at no extra cost, which greatly contributed to the number of players engaged with the battle royale on console. Could it be that this version was shut down to pave the way for a more substantial free-to-play PUBG in the future? We can only speculate on this right now but it would make sense. PUBG Lite, a free-to-play (and less intensive) PC version of PUBG, was shut down in April by publisher KRAFTON, with little detail given as to why. It's also worth remembering that this isn't PUBG's first foray into free-to-play. With PUBG 2 now rumored to be scrapped, and PUBG: New State set to improve the PUBG experience on mobile, the main (now almost five-year-old) game needs a bit of a shake-up if it wants to still compete with the likes of Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite and Apex Legends - and a free-to-play model could do that.
Or Destiny 2, which went free-to-play in 2019, asking players to only pay for any extra DLC they wanted. CS:GO is a perfect example, which went free-to-play in late 2018 following waning numbers and now steadily remains Steam's most popular game. We've seen titles changing to a free-to-play model successfully before.
Going free-to-play would offer PUBG a new lease of life, likely resulting in an influx of new players. PUBG is still pulling in the figures, but nowhere close to how it used to. While PUBG consistently remains one Steam's top games (opens in new tab) (in terms of concurrent players), the battle royale has seen a steady decline in its average and peak players on PC over the past few years. It makes sense for PUBG to go free-to-play for a variety of reasons. PUBG Steam figures (Image credit: Steam Charts)
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