Free PUBG and What PUBG Plus Officially Gives You

14 August 2026 · 3 min read

GameMapa editorial · how we check facts
Checked: Claude (AI) — fact-checked against the Ukrainian original; not proofread by a native speaker

PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS moved to a free-to-play model simultaneously across every platform. The data below comes from KRAFTON’s official Steam announcement and from the Battlegrounds Plus page in game-info.

When the switch to free-to-play happened

The switch happened on 12 January 2022. That’s confirmed by the official Steam announcement, and from that date on, the base version of PUBG has been available without an upfront purchase on every supported platform.

What Battlegrounds Plus is

Battlegrounds Plus is an official one-time account upgrade, not a subscription. Per the Steam announcement, it costs 12.99 USD, paid once and applied to the whole account rather than to a single season or time period.

The upgrade unlocks:

• access to ranked mode — without Plus, ranked matches aren’t available;
• the ability to create custom matches;
• the Career-Medal tab in the player profile;
• a +100% bonus to Survival Mastery XP — progress accrues twice as fast.

For more on the ranked system that Plus unlocks, see our piece on PUBG ranked tiers.

Bonuses inside the Plus package

Beyond the functional perks, the package officially includes:

• the Captain’s Camo cosmetic set — a hat, a mask, and gloves;
• 1300 G-Coin, valid for 5 years from the moment it’s credited.

This is a one-time grant of bonus currency and cosmetics tied to the Plus purchase itself, not a selection of individual items chosen by the player.

Compensation for players who bought the game earlier

Players who already owned PUBG before the switch to free-to-play received a free PUBG Special Commemorative Pack, which included the Plus set itself. That’s official compensation specifically for anyone who paid full price for the game before 12 January 2022 — new players joining after that date didn’t receive this pack separately.

What isn’t officially stated

• No information on regional pricing. The Steam announcement states the price in US dollars; whether it differs across other currencies and platforms isn’t separately detailed in the verified source.
• No expiration date for the upgrade itself. Unlike the G-Coin (5 years), the announcement doesn’t put a date on how long the functional Plus perks (ranked, custom matches) last.
• No detail on whether Plus is refundable. Refund policy follows the general rules of each platform (Steam, PS Store, Xbox), not anything specific to this package.

What this means for a new player

The base game has been available without payment since 12 January 2022, but part of the functionality — ranked matches above all — requires a one-time top-up of 12.99 dollars. It’s a “free foundation plus paid access to specific features” model, not a time- or content-limited demo.

For a newcomer, that means you can fully try out the base Battle Royale for free — maps, weapons, vehicles — and only then decide whether the upgrade to ranked matches and custom lobbies is worth paying for. Since the upgrade is a one-time purchase permanently tied to the account, it’s more of a long-term investment than a seasonal purchase you’d have to repeat every year.