PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Is Finally Ready To Leave Early Access On Steam

It almost feels like Bluehole’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has been in Early Access on [...]

Playerunknowns Battlegrounds

It almost feels like Bluehole's PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has been in Early Access on Steam forever, hasn't it? The game has managed to sell over 20 million copies in that state, and while players have been thoroughly enjoying it, they've been wondering just when the game would see a "final" release on the service.

We've finally got news on that – and it appears that you won't have to wait long. The team announced on Twitter today that the game will be leaving Early Access later tonight. Granted, that means Battlegrounds will be offline for a little while to prep for that shift, but come 11 PM PDT on December 20th, the party begins.

"Players, we will be leaving Early Access and launching PC 1.0 on December 20th 11 PM PST," the company noted. "The maintenance on live servers for 1.0 will start December 20 6 PM PST/December 21 3AM CET and last for 5 hours. 1.0 release patch notes and our plans beyond the release will be shared with you soon."

It also stated, "Please note that once the live servers go into maintenance, the test servers will also be closed. This is to ensure a smooth transition to PC 1.0. We hope for your understanding."

The company also made note that it would be resetting the leaderboards with the shift, and while some fans are a little sore about that, starting from scratch isn't the worst thing in the world. Besides, these players can just build their progress right back up, yeah?

The 1.0 update will also bring the ability to vault over objects and climb onto things, making maneuverability a bit easier. There's also a new 3D Replay feature, a killcam, new weapons and vehicles being thrown into the fray, and a brand new desert map that will be introduced to all players, the previously revealed Miramar.

It sounds like it's Christmas time for Battlegrounds players, although it's unknown just how the game will perform once it switches over to 1.0. After all, the game launched on Xbox One earlier this month, and it didn't quite run at the high standard that many players were expecting it to. (To be fair, though, the developers have since patched its performance up a bit.)

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is available on Early Access now for Steam, as well as Game Preview on Xbox One.

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