PUBG's Seasonal Event Maps Could Return in the Future

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is saying goodbye to one map and hello to another in Season 10 when Season 9's Paramo departs from the game to be replaced by Haven, the new city setting filled with heights and AI enemies. Unlike other longstanding maps like Erangel, these battlegrounds are considered "event maps" and have been tied to seasons. That means the time players had and will have with them are relatively short compared to other maps, but there's still a chance that they'll come back sometime in the future.

Despite being very different in settings, one thing these maps have in common is the experimental factor found in each. Paramo was a dynamic map that changed between matches while Haven has an AI faction patrolling the streets to make each match unlike the last. Speaking to ComicBook.com, PUBG Creative Director Dave Curd said these sorts of maps allow for ambitious and experimental ideas without jeopardizing the larger PUBG experience. Sanhok's loot trucks were an experimental factor players received warmly, Curd said, as was the "random royale" of Paramo. The hope is that the same happens with Haven.

"The notion with these event maps is it allows us to try risky things with low risk," Curd said. "If the whole community said, 'Oh, my gosh. We hate Haven' – I don't anticipate that happening – but if they did, it's like, 'Well, the good news is it's a limited time only.' We haven't rocked the boat too much, but the good thing is we will see how people respond to Haven."

As for the future of these event maps once they've been removed, Curd said he'd be sad if the maps just went away forever. He referenced how Vikendi was removed and came back later after some work was done to it and suggested the same could happen for the event maps we've seen in Season 9 and will see in Season 10.

"That map's never really die," Curd said. "They might just fade for a little while, but then they can make triumphant returns. No immediate plans for Paramo, but it's a fun concept. People enjoyed it. We would be crazy if we didn't find a way to bring it back in some capacity in the future."

Despite the positive reception of these sorts of maps, there are those who long for some of the larger maps PUBG originally started with. For those who'd rather see bigger maps than these smaller experimental ones, 2021 sounds like it'll be a year to look forward to.