PUBG Battlegrounds 15.2 update released: Drones, tactical gear across maps and more - check Free-to-play details

South Korean video game developer Krafton on Wednesday announced that the most popular game around the world PUBG Battlegrounds is now free-to-play (F2P) on PC and consoles. They have also introduced Battlegrounds Plus, an optional premium account upgrade that allows players to access a variety of new and exclusive in-game features.

While all new players will start with a basic account that offers access to most game features, they can upgrade to Battlegrounds Plus for a one-time fee of $12.99. And with the PUBG Battlegrounds update 15.2, it will also bring more elements to make the battle royale game more modern and interesting.

"Now with our free-to-play transition, we want to further expand our community, provide faster matchmaking, and the opportunity to meet more opponents. After the transition free-to-play, Battlegrounds Plus  account is added and all players who have owned and played PUBG Battlegrounds before the free-to-play service transition will automatically receive the PUBG – Special COMMEMORATIVE PACK," Krafton wrote in patch notes.

"We’ve decided to introduce a whole new category of tactical items, Tactical Gear, that strays from pure gunplay to provide our players various options for improving their in-game performances. As Tactical Gear will be taking up players’ primary weapon slots, we hope this will allow players to come up with more creative long-term strategies," they further added.

Krafton has announced that they will be launching new tactical gear across maps.  The new category of tactical items will be named Tactical Gear. This will allow players to not depend completely on gunplay. Players with a varied skillset will be able to win using the new gear.

Tactical Gear will be taking up players’ primary weapon slots. This will force gamers to develop their gameplay and long-term strategy in a certain way.  One of the biggest changes in gameplay is expected to come from the introduction of drones.

 The Drone is a Tactical Gear that allows players to scout a far distance safely and even pick up an item without having to risk direct combat. Krafton has announced that drones will spawn in every map. They will be available in Normal Matches, Custom Games, Training Mode, and Sandbox Mode.

"Please note that the maintenance time may take longer than usual, as we will be updating each platform’s store and distributing rewards to our existing players. The Test Server will close along with the Live Server Maintenance. Due to the transition to free-to-play, the 15.2 Live Server will go under  maintenance at the same time on both PC and Console," the company said in a blog post.