PUBG Testing New Gameplay Feature to Stop Campers

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds players have long debated the merits of "camping" in the game. In PUBG, a giant blue circle slowly constricts the field, forcing players to move in or take damage if they get caught in the area outside of it. There are two types of PUBG players: those who run-and-gun, and those who camp out in the center of the map where they can avoid the constriction, as well as other opponents. Over the last few days, developer PUBG Corporation has been testing out a new addition to the game: a second, inner circle designed to prevent players from camping. PUBG Corporation is calling it Bluehole Mode, and the company's blog post makes it clear that the change could become permanent, depending on player feedback.

"Circle squatters that felt safe not to engage the enemy will now be forced to keep it moving as a second blue zone is being added to the existing circle. The new 'inner blue zone' will be both a camping deterrent and an indicator of where the next circle will be."

It will be interesting to see how fans react should PUBG Corporation choose to make the change a permanent one. Many players choose to camp or run-and-gun depending on the situation, so some adaptation will, of course, be necessary for pretty much everyone. So far, opinion on social media seems a bit mixed, though a common complaint from players is that matchmaking took nearly an hour for Bluehole Mode. With this being a potential permanent change to the game, it's likely that a lot of PUBG players wanted to test things out, putting some burden on the servers.

No luck attempting to try out the new "Bluehole" game mode on PUBG Labs. Was cleaning my room and let the matchmaking hit 53 minutes (tpp) currently at 26 minutes for fpp.

NA servers struggle in the morning (understandably so, but still...) pic.twitter.com/YroN3Pc4Ud

— BLiTz5 (@Blitz5) December 6, 2019

LUL 50 minute FPP estimated wait time for Bluehole Mode right now. Not gonna do that again, are we @PUBG?

— Thuurston (@thuurston) December 7, 2019

Released on Microsoft Windows in December 2017, PUBG received widespread acclaim and several awards, including Best Multiplayer at The Game Awards 2017. Since then, PUBG has been released on several platforms, including Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Yesterday, PUBG Corporation celebrated the game's one year anniversary on PS4 with the release of free skins for players. The giveaway ends December 9th.

Bluehole Mode comes to an end December 9th at 2:00 a.m. ET. What are your thoughts on Bluehole Mode? Do you think PUBG Corporation's suggested changes will help better balance the game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!