PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds current map could get upgrades in the future, first-person servers only remove the crosshairs

By Sherif Saed

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds creator Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene has ambitious plans for the game’s future, and nothing is out of the question.

Having recently announced the Xbox One version at E3, Greene is a busy man. Though he’s mostly based in South Korea, the team recently expanded to a new studio in Wisconsin, not to mention the Spanish studio working on the console version.

The game’s future is looking brighter than ever, now that we have big additions like the new desert map, character animations, and first-person servers to look forward to. Each of those operate on a different schedule, though.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Greene couldn’t give an ETA as to when the map will be available. “What people saw in that is what is called ‘a beautiful corner’, an area of the map made to show the art director the overall feel the team want to give the map,” he said, referring to the only image released of the map so far.

“We’re trying to pick one [of the two maps in developer] to focus on. But it’s still going to take us many months to get it out. I mean maps are not an easy thing to do, the last map took us about six to nine months to get to a really playable state.”

That said, the creator confirmed that there’s going to be a blog post about the desert map with more details in the near future.

Elsewhere in the interview, Greene explained why first-person servers were always going to come to game. “There’s a way to play third-person but I prefer to play first-person because it’s far more intense,” he told the site.

“There’s a way to play third-person but I prefer to play first-person because it’s far more intense.”

He also pointed out that the new option shouldn’t be considered hardcore, which is exactly what many wanted: the same mechanics and damage model with a different perspective.

Something will change, though, and it’s weapon crosshairs. “We’re removing the crosshair, because it’s more immersive,” confirmed Greene.

“I spectated some rounds in first-person competitions in Arma 3 where two people are in the same bush and they don’t see each other, they just walk past each other like ships in the night. You know it’s those moments, when you die it feels fairer. There’s no peeking and stuff, so you feel better,” he added.

First-person servers will launch on August 3 alongside a big patch that’ll bring a new rifle, and new sets of cosmetic items.