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Oliver Brandt is a Contributing Pop Culture Writer based in Tasmania, Australia. Their focus is reporting on video games, film, and TV. They have extensive knowledge of video game history and communities both in Australia and abroad, animated films and television shows, and international cinema. Oliver joined Newsweek in 2024 and has previously worked at Men’s Journal, Parade, and more. They are a graduate of Curtin University. You can get in touch with Oliver by emailing o.brandt@newsweek.com. You can find them on X and Bluesky @chocobalt. Languages: English.
Contributing Pop Culture Writer
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Publisher Krafton has announced that potentially millions of players will no longer be able to play PUBG: Battlegrounds from November, as its ending support for the game on last generation consoles.
The news comes via a blog post on the PUBG website, where Krafton revealed that support for the PS4 and Xbox One version of the game will be ending on November 13, 2025. The publisher says that the move is a “necessary step” as it moves towards greater support on current-gen consoles, the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
“To provide our players with a more stable gameplay environment on console and ensure a smoother, more seamless experience with future updates, we’ve decided to transition to current-gen consoles,” the statement reads. “Following this transition, console players will see improved visuals and more stable frame rates. In addition, we expect to reduce ongoing crash issues through memory-related optimizations.
“As part of this transition, we will be ending support for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It weighs heavily on us to deliver this news to our console players who have enjoyed PUBG on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for so many years … This was not a decision made lightly. It comes after long and careful consideration, in pursuit of the continued growth and long-term future of PUBG Console.”
Krafton says the last-gen version of the game will be unavailable immediately following the live server maintenance on November 13, after which players will need to move to the new PS5 or Xbox Series X|S version of the game if they want to continue playing. It also says that existing account data and purchased items will be preserved, so players who make the leap to the current-gen versions of the game will be able to pick up and play without losing their progress.
The announcement comes after the creator of PUBG, PlayerUnknown, announced and then launched an open beta for his latest game, Prologue: Go Wayback! The game is available to all players on Steam, ahead of its early access period, expected to launch later this year.
