PUBG introduces new map with destructible environment

Last night, the fifth season of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds came to a close. Its developer has taken the lull in the action as an opportunity to reveal its plans for PUBG Season 6. So far, it looks to be at least as mayhem and destruction filled as its predecessors.

Release the Karakin

In fact, it might be even more so, as PUBG Corporation is introducing destructible environments to the game. This will be done by way of a new map, called Karakin. It will replace Vikendi, which will be put on hiatus pending a rework.

Karakin is a dry and rocky island situated off the coast of Northern Africa. It will also be the game's smallest ranked map, clocking in at 2x2 km and accommodating 64 players.

Click to enlarge

Welcome to Karakin, try not to get flattened!

This is not its main selling point, however. Its new hazard, the ominously labelled Black Zone, is. This randomly spawning zone is capable of leveling entire towns and compounds. This changes the map’s layout and the usefulness of certain areas per match, making its gameplay a lot more dynamic.

Players can contribute to the chaos too. Dry walls on Karakin can be shot through and a Sticky Bomb has been introduced that can destroy walls and floors. This means you can create your own lines of sight for camping opponents, or make an unexpected entrance to take them out.

The developer promises that the new map will include many secret areas, for those intrepid explorers with a few bombs to spare.

PUBG’s Season 6 gameplay trailer.

Gliding into action

If that's not enough chaos for you, the Motor Glider which was tested last month has already been deployed to the live servers, adding death from above to the mix. The developer does not specify whose deaths, although it has disclosed that 60% of the time the vehicle was destroyed by crashing.

When the rest of the changes, including a new Survivor Pass and various fixes and optimizations, will hit the live servers is currently unknown. It is mentioned that rewards for Season 5 will be granted at the beginning of the next one. Last week’s end-of-season announcement suggests that this might be on or around the 22nd of this month.