PUBG option to select playing field disappears after third map introduction

Players of the game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds have been able to choose which map they want to play on since the end of April, but this will disappear in the short term. Developer PUBG Corp says this will no longer be tenable once the third map Sanhok comes out on June 22.

The developer reports on Steam that a selection option for more than two maps will not be supported, as that would lead to an exponential increase in the number of separate queues. That’s because queue selections are also possible for the first- and third-person perspective and the size of a group of players. According to PUBG Corp, this together would lead to a matchmaking system with too much fragmentation; there are then too few players left in certain queues to actually start a game.

The developer is aware of the fact that after the release of the new map, players will probably want to specifically make this jungle playing field unsafe. To prevent players from landing in this map based on luck, a separate queue for Sanhok will be added. This means that players can opt for the special Sanhok row or for a joint row for both existing maps Erangel and Miramar. Sanhok, the new relatively small jungle map, will be released on PC on June 22 and will also be available to Xbox One players in late summer.

PUBG Corp added the option to choose between the Erangel and Miramar maps at the end of April, but the company said it would keep a close eye on whether matchmaking wait times increased or if other issues were to arise. Prior to the introduction of this map selection, players were randomly matched to one of the two maps.