PUBG heads back to its roots with original Erangel map and 'nostalgic' graphics

What worked for Fortnite may very well work for PUBG as Krafton, the company behind the battle royale, has announced that the shooter will be going back to its roots.

For a two-week period, PUBG will go back to its original Erangel map whilst also featuring ‘nostalgic’ visuals and even old-school weapon and item balancing, making things feel like a throwback to the glory days.

PUBG is always evolving and growing despite losing the lead in the genre to Fortnite.

Of course, this isn’t a new idea, Fortnite did this very thing last year when it brought back the ‘OG’ feels of its earliest season. This made fans swarm to the game even if they had not played for years, and a similar event is rumoured to be happening later this year.

So, it’s no surprise that PUBG, the originator of the genre, is doing something similar. The game launched onto Steam early access back in 2017 and managed to reach over 3 million concurrent players at its peak.

Now it’s time to relive those glory days and go back to where it all started. Erangel classic launches 14 May 2024 and is “designed to evoke nostalgia for players who remember the early access days.”

The success of PUBG spawned a wave of battle royales but its unique look and feel is yet to be matched and it’s likely that this revisit will bring plenty of fans back to the shooter.

It’s interesting to note that the guns will handle the way they did seven years ago as Krafton notes, “The gunplay balance has also been adjusted to capture the feel of the early days, with the recoil of all weapons, except for a few, being reduced. Players can also find the Tommy Gun in the Care Package, just like in the old days.”

Many fans of the genre will be rejoicing at this retro experience and hopefully, we’ll see some big player counts over the two weeks.