The use of item trading in CS:GO has always been something of a shady ground for Valve, and sometimes the grey areas of how it functions have been manipulated and taken advantage of by prominent CS:GO players and YouTubers. As such, it was only a matter of time before Valve acted on the matter, particularly given CS:GO 's place in the larger discussion around how deep loot box problems go in the industry, but the company may have wanted to act a little quicker, and perhaps in a way that didn't cause such a backlash from play

The PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds creator revealed as much to US Gamer during the 2018 Game Developers Conference, with Greene stating, “I mean, everyone that [suggests] region locking [is forgetting about] VPN. It just doesn’t work.” Greene then went on to point out that the recently implemented ping-based matchmaking, which only pairs players with those who have the same or similar ping, has improved the experience for m

Nonetheless, this latest iteration of Counter-Strike has not been without its issues over the years, and one noticeable problem is the use of item trading. Trading in CS: GO is effectively a mini-economy in its own right, with some players cashing in on earned skins for big payoffs, while there are ongoing concerns over the use of skins as a virtual currency for online gambling. Eventually, Valve decided enough was enough and has implemented changes, with a recently-traded item now stuck in a seven day cool down before it can be moved on ag

Not long after its main competitor Fortnite came to iOS devices, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds released a mobile version as well. Available to both iOS and Android users and requiring no special invite codes at launch, PUBG Mobile seems to have taken off as one of the more popular battle royale mobile games on the market, and for good rea

Not all content will be entirely new; much of what's planned for 2018 will be reworked content currently in the game, some of which has been long-requested by the PUBG player base. Of special interest are reworked parachuting and unarmed melee combat systems, both of which have been heavily criticized. Even larger is an overhaul of the entire Third Person and First Person mode animation system to increase smoothness and reactiveness, including new animations for switching car seats or entering a vehi

This, however, has led to some major complaints from some members of the CS:GO community. As a matter of fact, a change.org petition has even started up, and in a very short amount of time has managed to accumulate 120,000 signatures from Counter-Strike players who want to see Valve revert back to the old way that trading worked in the shooter. “ This update not only kills trading in a sense, but also will kill our beloved CS:GO if it remains effective, ” states the petit

Outside of direct gameplay changes, PUBG Corp. is still hard at work. In-game achievements and a friends list, as well as squad voice chat, are each going to be added in 2018. And server stability, connection speeds, and dealing with cheaters remains the studio's first priority in 2

“We just implemented ping-based matchmaking which really has improved the gameplay experience for a lot of players. It's working out quite well and we're still doing research. We have the data team looking into it and trying to improve it. And that's the goal with the game, to keep improving it over this year and the next year and the next ten yea

Content is king, so it should be no surprise that planned additions to the game were the most prominent part of the PUBG roadmap. First up is a brand new 4×4 kilometer map, a quarter of the size of Erangel and Miramar, designed for faster, action-packed rounds. This small map will come to a new Experimental Test Server in April, but a second, standard-sized 8×8 map is also in development for a 2018 release, but is not yet ready to be sh

Finally, PUBG Corp. dedicated itself to a routine schedule for major patches in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds . From here on, major patches are planned to be released on a 2-month schedule, with the first such patch planned for March. Smaller patches and hotfixes will continue to be released as needed, especially as the Experimental Test Server grows in

There's more than just two new 2018 maps in the works, though. PUBG Corp. is working on an all-new emote feature, replete with an emote wheel so players can bow, wave, dance, and taunt as necessary mid-game. New vehicles and weapons are in-development, including the FN FAL. And customization options will continue to be added throughout the year, including skins for parachutes and weap

While some PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds fans may disagree with Greene's stance when it comes to the notion of region locking the game in China, it would be difficult for one to claim that Pubg weapons Corp. is not taking the issue of cheating seriously. After all, the development team behind the battle royale title has been steadily working on anti-cheat updates, introduced fresh rules in an effort to stop cheaters and unauthorized programs, and has banned more than one million players in the past for the offe