PUBG Remastering Previous Maps Beginning with Erangel

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The PUBG Team has begun to remaster its currently existing maps, beginning with introducing tons of new loot locations on Erangel.
Erangel, the classic PUBG map that started it all, will be getting a remastered version according to the PUBG development team .

As some of you inferred from some recent leaks of a map image, we are working on new ways to balance loot and otherwise improve our maps, Erangel being the first. The addition of compounds is just one way we’re testing internally, but is certainly not the ONLY way.

This statement from the PUBG team came after a Reddit post which showed an updated Erangel map with many, many more clusters of buildings all throughout the map compared to previous versions (handily highlighted in this comparison image between the new and old version of the map). These changes to Erangel are planned on being tested “soon” with the PUBG team sharing their plans for the tests in the “coming weeks.” While it appears the remaster is just going to be the addition of more buildings, and therefore more loot spots, in its maps, the team also mentions, “Keep in mind that leaked images are usually just a snapshot in time and rarely represent the entire plan or scope of what’s being worked on. That said, we’re excited for you to see the full picture, along with the level of thought and work the team have been putting into remastering this fundamental map.” Perhaps some much larger changes could be coming soon.

While the introduction of Apex Legends has brought serious competition to a landscape only dominated by PUBG and Fortnite, PUBG continues to be quite popular, remaining in the top five most-played games on Steam with an average of >400,000 at any given time in the past five months. The addition of more lootable places but the potential lack of increased quality in loot has been criticized in the original reddit post leak, as some players are tired of looting for 20 minutes only to find low-tier loot and the addition of more loot locations but not an increase in the chance of finding better gear is disheartening. Whether this remaster will include balancing loot beyond adding more locations remains to be seen.

Other players would prefer the final circles to not favor open field prone-standoffs in the grass and still others want more variation in terrain height instead. Having only played the mobile version of PUBG and the Xbox One version during a free weekend (that convinced me it wasn’t worth buying at the time) I can’t say much other than most memories of Erangel are of sprinting through large open spaces wondering if I was going to be picked off. They are fond memories though, especially of those prone-standoffs in the final circle where the only cover were some thin tree trunks.