PUBG’s New Revival Features Have Been in Development for Months, Could Come to More Maps

PUBG: Battlegrounds got updated on Thursday to add a new map that comes with two unique revival features: Comeback BR and the Self-AED. The first of those is a mechanic which allows players to get back into the fight if they die within a certain timeframe in a match while the second is a loot item which allows players to revive themselves without the assistance of a teammate. Both features have been in development for a few months now and are exclusive to the new Taego map, but that exclusivity could always change depending on how they’re received by the community.

Through the Comeback BR mechanic utilized in Taego’s Duo and Squad modes, players who die before the first Blue Zone phase are sent to a “Comeback Arena” which functions similarly to the Gulag in Call of Duty: Warzone. In this battleground, however, everyone’s dropped into the Comeback Arena at once where only those who outlast the ticking timer earn the right to come back to the main game. This opportunity is only presented to players if they have at least one teammate who’s still alive outside of the Comeback Arena

Self-AED requires a little less effort on the player’s part and can save someone in a pinch. By finding and using this loot item, you can revive yourself without the need of a teammate if you’ve been downed. All teammates can be downed so long as one of them has a Self-AED, but if the only person carrying it gets eliminated, the squad is wiped.

Talks of these mechanics have been surfacing online for a while now with some suggesting that the features have been in the works for years, but PUBG’s producer Taehyun Kim said in an interview with ComicBook.com that both Comeback BR and the Self-AED have been in the works for about 6 months now whenever work was underway on Taego.

“As for Comeback BR and Self-AED, these features were determined when Taego development kicked off,” Kim said. “We’ve worked on the features for about 6 months. I think this rumor got out thanks to the fans’ interest in the game and its development. We really appreciate it.”

These two features are indeed limited to Taego right now, but that doesn’t mean they can’t come to other maps in the future. Map-exclusive features are common enough when it comes to PUBG, but if the idea works well enough, the team seems open to bringing it to more maps.

“I don’t think Comeback BR is a complete feature yet,” Kim said. “We’ll continue to develop the feature and consider applying it to another map if it becomes a key gameplay meta for PUBG: Battlegrounds.”

The fate of Taego itself is in discussion, too. PUBG has adopted the idea of seasonal maps over the past couple of releases with some maps being added for a season and cycled out afterwards alongside mainstay battlegrounds like Erangel. Kim said the PUBG team will see how Taego is received by players before deciding whether it’ll stick around or will be rotated out.