Players of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds were delighted this week when developer PUBG Corp. added custom games to the test server. Players have been asking for custom matches for quite some time, and it allows them to set parameters for a match including the game mode (e.g normal or zombie), the map it's based on and more. However, upon closer inspection, the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds community has discovered that its celebrations may have been premature.
In the Steam announcement post published by PUBG Corp. to detail its plans for the mode, the developer explained that the custom match feature may become paid-for in future. While it is currently available in beta for free, as a result of the "extremely large amount of resources" required to make custom matches available to all, the feature may be available with an "associated cost" in future.
The developer goes on to explain that charging for access to the custom match feature may become necessary in order to "ensure everything runs smoothly and the system remains sustainable long-term." Though, the team is "open to your feedback" and will announce more details about this possible business model later down the line.
The PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds community seems split on the issue. The game's technical issues are well-known as PUBG Corp/ has had to roll back entire updates (including the hotly anticipated anti-cheat update) due to the bugs that they had introduced. As the game has grown in popularity, issues surrounding lag and dropped framerates have also plagued its millions of players. With this in mind, some fans are arguing that if PUBG Corp. wants to charge for custom matches in order to make the feature run smoothly, then so be it.
Others though are disappointed in the developer as the suggestion that custom matches may become paid-for comes not long after another controversy surrounding the game's business model. PUBG Corp. faced significant backlash when it introduced the game's Event Pass, which many players argued was not good value for money. The implementation of the battle pass was also affected by technical issues.
PUBG Corp. has tried to make amends for this, including the launch of a bonus XP event, something which has gone down well with players. But locking off content like custom matches behind a paywall is being seen as a step in the wrong direction and something that could potentially undo that goodwill that PUBG Corp. is working desperately to claw back.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is available now on PC, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
Source: Steam