News

PUBG PC Update Focuses On Bugfixes, FPS Drops & Balance Changes

Published

5 years ago

May 20, 2018

Anthony DiMoro

A new update for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is now out for the PC and addresses a number of bugs as well as implementing balance changes.

Bluehole Studio said this about PC update #13:

“We’ve seen a lot of concern from many of you about overall performance. Addressing FPS drops is our top priority, and we hope to have more updates to address performance improvements soon. For now, the team will be trying out fixes throughout this patch cycle. Thanks for staying patient with us in the meantime.”

Here are the patch notes, via Steam:

Gameplay

Both the Lightweight Grip and Half Grip can now be attached to the Vector.
Some minor weapon balance adjustments:
- First shot from the M16A4 now has less recoil.
- Decreased the spread of shotgun pellets.
- Shotgun chokes and duckbills are now less effective at decreasing spread (so the effective spread for a shotgun with a choke or duckbill will be similar to before)

UI/UX

CUSTOMIZATION > GEAR tab has been added. Go here to equip parachute skins.
Tooltips for weapon attachments have been edited to make them more intuitive.

Localization

Added support for Ukrainian. Thank you to all the Ukrainian players who participated in the translation process!
Game lobby now supports multiple languages.
- Multiple languages will be applied to various lobby components such as lobby menus (Play, Customization, Store, etc.), the options menu, and crates
- 19 different languages are supported

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where certain buildings in Miramar were shown with default textures
Fixed some walls in Miramar that could be partially passed through
Removed the white mark that appeared alongside the aircraft icon on the minimap
Scope reticle settings should no longer reset when weapons are dropped and picked up again
We’ve improved the holographic sight’s reticle. It’s now the same size as a character silhouette seen from 100m away
Certain animations on the buggy and minibus have been fixed
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused characters to sit at odd angles if entering into vehicles from a prone position on a sloped surface
Fixed an issue causing red dot and holo sight reticles to get smaller and blurry when swapping weapons
“Damage-received” sounds should no longer play after winning a game

New Crate – Aviator

A new crate (Aviator Crate) with new outfits has been added. Find it in the STORE menu
- Aviator Crate requires an Aviator Key to be opened
TEST SERVER ONLY: For testing purposes, we will provide 100K BP, 20x Weapon Skin Keys, 20x Early Bird Keys, 20x Aviator Keys, and 10x Aviator Crates to all test accounts.
Added new parachute skin
- The “Bengal Tiger” parachute skin can be purchased separately as an individual item for $4.99(price will vary slightly in some regions, based on global exchange rates). It can be purchased only once per account.
  - Bengal Tiger is unable to trade in Steam market
- It is purchasable in STORE > ITEMS menu

Console

Microsoft Unveils Xbox Developer Sustainability Toolkit

Published

2 days ago

March 22, 2023

Anthony DiMoro

Xbox has officially unveiled the Xbox Developer Sustainability Toolkit which is aimed to help creators reduce energy consumption and measure carbon emissions during game development processes.

The Xbox Developer Sustainability ToolKit includes resources that include:

Power Monitor tools
Certification reports
Power consumption dashboards
Best practices

Ubisoft and 343 Industries were named as early users of the Xbox Developer Sustainability ToolKit with 343 Industries able to reduce energy use by 15% without impacting the player experience at all.

Ubisoft and Xbox are co-developing an energy-efficient eco-mode for users.

You can check out the full report right here.

Business

Epic Games Store Hits $820 Million in Player Spending During 2022

Published

2 days ago

March 22, 2023

Anthony DiMoro

Epic Games has officially released financial data related to it’s growing marketplace on PC, showing that $820 million was spent on the Epic Games Store during the 2022 year, and promised support for third-party subscription services and new ‘content hubs’ to help companies promote their titles.

According to the data:

The numbers

Total users of Epic Games Store PC: 230 million (up 19% year-on-year)
Epic cross-platform accounts: 732 million
Daily active users peak: 34.3 million
Monthly active users: 68 million (up 10%)

Total spending, incl. Epic’s games: $820 million (down 2%)
Spending on third-party games: $355 million (up 18%)
Free games claimed: 700 million
Number of new PC releases: 626
Total library of PC games: 1,548 (up 68%)

Epic Games stated on it’s blog that more PC games launched during the 2022 year than in any year prior.

Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto 5, Rocket League, Genshin Impact, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands were among the most popular titles related to player engagement and player spending, and Epic Games looks to deepen their focus in 2023 as they aim to improve the store launcher’s performance.

Epic Games also aims to add support for subscription services from third-party publishers and live service products by the end of the 2023 year, adding that they are also working on ‘content hubs’ which will be separate from product pages and will enable publishers to “share information with users in a robust editorial format.”

Business

California Judge Dismisses Gamers Lawsuit Filed Against Microsoft

Published

2 days ago

March 22, 2023

Anthony DiMoro

A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that the group of 10 plaintiffs “[lacked] allegations” in their lawsuit filed last year that claimed Microsoft’s ownerships of Activision Blizzard would harm consumers and competition in the video games market, according to a filing shared by Reuters.

While US District Judge Jacqueline Corley dismissed the case, she also gave the plaintiffs 20 days to refine their lawsuit and resubmit it, and the group’s lawyer, Joseph Saveri, said that there are plans to officially submit an amended lawsuit with “additional factual detail” that will address the judge’s concerns.

It marks a victory for Microsoft, but their battles are far from over as they still face a hearing over the Federal Trade Commission’s legal complaint, which is currently slated to take place in August of this year.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard originally expected the transaction to be complete by June 30, 2023.