Almost synchronous with the development of Chinese games, in recent yearsKorean games are also on consoles andSteam has seen many excellent titles, all deeply loved by players.But now few people mention that the pioneer leading this trend was"PUBG".
In 2017,"PUBG"'s sudden emergence was phenomenal, even considered by many to have changed the gaming habits of Chinese and Korean players, bringing tens of millions of users to recognize and flock toSteam platform—with such influence capable of changing the entire gaming industry, it's no surprise it received the 2017TGA Game of the Year nomination.
And now, 8 years have passed—8 years is an excessively long time for an "online service" game, and some voices have begun to suggest that"PUBG"has entered middle age, doubting if it still has what it takes? But in reality, it indeed"PUBG"once lost its way, but after bold innovations in operational strategy, these past two years of"PUBG"welcomed its second spring.
Data doesn't lie,SteamDB statistics"PUBG"this month's DAU at60to 700,000, maintaining a top-five position and striving for third on the popularity charts. During events with high player enthusiasm, peak concurrent user data can even reach the million level. Although this isn't as intuitively perceptible as dominating internet cafes and live streaming platforms during its peak, it objectively proves"PUBG"as the underlying strength of a long-standing game.
To explore the reasons,We can look at the parent companyKrafton's financial report published earlier this year. One specific point mentioned brand collaboration partnerships, with the report stating that these collaborations contributed to"PUBG"inPC and console annual revenue growth contributed nearly one trillion Korean won.
"PUBG"players have a more intuitive feeling. Initially, coming"visiting" were game IPs like "NieR: Automata" and "Assassin's Creed." Later, the game achieved broader appeal, inviting movie stars like Daniel Wu and Ma Dong-seok into the game.
Not to mention collaborations with luxury cars like Porsche and Bugatti, where the restoration of engine sounds and body details rivals serious racing games, making the driving experience during laps even more stylish. And collaborating with girl groups is their forte; after all, as a major Korean companyKrafton had the advantage of proximity, having invited Blackpink to hold a concert in the game, and the collaboration with Aespa was called by fans the most suitable game crossover due to the latter's group name meaning "meeting another world, embodying a new world."
So,"PUBG"it's not hard to understand why they chose to collaborate with Cai Xukun, who has significant influence in the Chinese music industry, and invited him to be the game's spokesperson.
Like the game, Cai Xukun's influence radiates beyond the entertainment industry, just like"PUBG"'s feverish popularity, breakingthe stereotype that Steam belongs only to hardcore gamers. However, correspondingly, this breakout effect brings pressure and scrutiny from different perspectives:Do these two names deserve the traffic and praise they receive? This has always been a topic of widespread public concern.
It can be seen that Cai Xukun released a new song this year titled "Deadman" received enthusiastic responses, topping charts on major music platforms. At the same time, there was a breakthrough in musical style andhigher level of skill application, largely breakingthe stereotype of "outsiders towards idols," proving that while traffic is king, those who remain in this era of "fast-consumption entertainment" still rely on meticulously crafted works.
"PUBG"Similarly, the operations team has always actively listened to player suggestions and prepared content that is both thoughtful and full of surprises. Therefore, the game prepared a new version"Operation Zero Degree Erangel", and in November26threleased the theme songPV. In the footage, howling blizzards foreshadow the theme of the new version, while the falling satellite after noise and flickering on the monitoring interface adds a touch of sci-fi feel, and with the progression of orchestral music, it renders a blockbuster atmosphere.
Correspondingly,"PUBG"announced a series of short film plans to铺垫 the story content of the new version. So we saw in "AgentK: Operation Zero Degree Erangel"Episode 1, Cai Xukun plays the"Scientific Worker" is on a large aircraft, looking throughan investigation report on Erangel's weather anomalies. Suddenly, he discovered there were other reasons behind the incident, and at that moment, the aircraft experienced abnormalities and prepared for an emergency landing. The scene shifts again, Cai Xukun reveals his identity as an agent and decisively parachutes into"Erangel."
It is understood that the military onceconducted a project called Project Z on "Erangel," aiming to use satellites to alter the magnetic field and thus change the battlefield's climate. However, due to magnetic anomalies and system failures during execution, the satellite crashed, causing Erangel to plunge into severe cold—"PUBG"A cold wave is coming.
The satellite's crash and rupture triggered drastic climate changes, with extreme cold rapidly enveloping the entire island:The Stalber region freezes over, and"Shelter," this hidden storage location, where rare items were reportedly found. It was also in this catastrophic "meteorite" accident that part of the bridge leading to the Snovka Military Base collapsed, and in the southwest of Erangelthe plains have changed some terrain due to snow accumulation, and ferry services are suspended because the river surface has frozen.
In the new version, the game will add a new weather change system. As snowflakes begin to fall, ice and snow gradually cover the land. Correspondingly,the "blue zone" replaced the "red zone," players inside will suffer a "freezing" effect,And the newly added visual effects and sound effects forthe 'freezing mechanism' brings better game immersion. This cold visual effect even affects visibility, adding to the already tense and intense"Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" matches, bringing richer tactical gameplay.
Perhaps using technology similar to experiments, game items"BZ Grenade" will "freeze" an area upon explosion. Accompanying the version update, the Erangel map will have a map-exclusive item named "Absolute Zero." This "grenade launcher" will launch grenadesattachon the ground, walls, or roofs. If operated correctly, after a period of time, a radius of7.5-meter blue zone, playing a warning sound before creation, it's easy to imagine this will greatly limit"PUBG"popular camping tactics, intentionally speeding up the pace and encouraging gunfights.
At the same time,"PUBG"also on Douyin,Bilibili, Douyu, Huya, and Kuaishou launched the "Warm Winter 'Chicken' Encounter" event. Currently, the event pages on all platforms are now live, and players can go to their preferred platform to participate in this event, sharing up to five million in event prizes.
And this is also"PUBG"one aspect of operations: valuing feedback to the player community.
So it can be seen that although"PUBG"didn't chase trends like hero shooters or extraction shooters, but they have been steadily moving forward and innovating. Especially if you pay attention to their update announcements for each version, you'll find several lines of developer comments under every gameplay change description, ranging from jokes about staying warm in cold weather to hopes that players enjoy the new version. To some extent, this reflects the special bond of trust between developers and players in an older game.
And all this, perhaps, isPUBGcan becomeThe answer from Steam's evergreen title—good collaborations can bring hype, but to keep players around, it relies on the sincerity of every update and every gameplay detail tweak.