What happened? Over the last few months, it was noticeable how the player numbers of PUBG continued to decline. This was partly due to strong competition, as many other games like Fortnite or Black Ops 4 jumped on the battle royale bandwagon. However, this downward trend has now been stopped, and PUBG is back. What are the reasons for this?
PUBG is getting more players on Steam again
How many players does PUBG have now? At the beginning of 2018, PUBG reached a remarkable milestone with over 3.2 million concurrent players. However, since then, it has gone downhill. Since February 2018, PUBG has lost more concurrent players on Steam every month. The peak of 3.2 million in July 2018 dropped to only 1.3 million. In November, there was a significant low with only 895,650 concurrent players at its peak.
However, the statistics from the last 30 days show a positive trend again after the battle royale shooter declined for 11 consecutive months. PUBG currently has an increase of 7.8% compared to the previous period and is now peaking at 1,109,766 concurrent players.
Where is the increase coming from?
Reason 1: The Winter Map. The increased interest in PUBG could be due to the recently added map Vikendi. This is the fourth map for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which is currently praised by players in the communities. What is special about this map is that it is set in the snow, opening up new tactical possibilities. This is something entirely new for players after the green map Erangel with its wide fields, the desert map Miramar, and the smallest map Sanhok. We have already taken a closer look at this for you:
Reason 2: Steam Winter Sale. If you look closely, the biggest increase in players came right with the Steam Winter Sale, which started on December 20. The sale was likely boosted by the positive feedback about the latest changes to PUBG. The timing couldn’t have been better after the launch of the new and often-praised winter map.
Reason 3: Blackout. According to several reports on Reddit, some players have become aware of the battle royale genre in a military setting through Black Ops 4. Others are also returning after a break. Players praise that looting and shooting feel better in PUBG. This is one reason why some players returned to PUBG. A comment from a player who took a break from PUBG because of Blackout symbolizes this. Now they are back and celebrating the winter map.
Reason 4: Improved performance. In recent months, PUBG has carried out the “FIX PUBG” campaign, in which developers addressed and fixed some issues. On Reddit, one often reads that players took a break due to these issues and are now coming back to see how PUBG has developed.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is an online multiplayer shooter that focuses entirely on the 'Battle Royale' game mode. The namesake 'PlayerUnknown', Brendan Gre...
