Changes are afoot for PUBG, the successful battle royale shooter from KRAFTON. In its 2024 roadmap for the game, the publisher revealed that PUBG will transition to Unreal Engine 5 this year to make it future-proof for the coming years – and enable the creation of user-generated content. Learning from Fortnite means learning to win, eh?
It sounds like the UE5 transition and the first preparations for UGC integration are going to be items for later in the year. In the meantime, players can look forward to shiny new gameplay improvements such as the addition of destructible terrain to the game. KRAFTON said that it wants to implement the first environmental destruction features with the April 2024 update for PUBG, after which they’ll be improved and expanded with future patches. For the time being, players can expect to flatten selected buildings to alter the terrain in their favor, but no one can know what the future will hold.
KRAFTON announced a new procedure when it comes to balance changes this year. Before any weapon rebalancing is implemented, players will have the opportunity to test the proposed adjustments in the Arcade’s Gunplay Labs mode. In this way, the developers want to find the sweet spot between refreshing the meta and providing a stable experience for players ahead of time. Gunplay updates are supposed to roll out every two months in 2024.
In a shift away from the direct combat focus, more items and interactions with the survival aspect of the game will be added in 2024’s updates. Changes are coming to ranked mode, which will feature exclusive rewards to make it more appealing, and matchmaking in general, improving the experience for everyone.
Promising a continued anti-cheating campaign and efforts to reel in big collaboration partners, the developer thanked players for their “unwavering love and support” over the past years.
PUBG was one of the originators of the battle royale genre and is still going strong after seven years. With efforts to rejuvenate the game on the technical level this year, it’s safe to say that KRAFTON is planning on having the game stick around for a while yet.
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Following the selections of tight end Colston Loveland in the first round and wide receiver Luther Buden III in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, it seemed that the idea of Keenan Allen’s return to the Chicago Bears for the upcoming season was dead. Last year, the Bears traded a fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for Allen to come to Chicago on the final season of his contract. Allen said he planned to choose between the Bears and a team in Los Angeles during free agency this offseason. The Bears are looking for a wide receiver No team has signed the veteran receiver. Allen is coming off a season where he recorded 70 receptions for 744 yards and seven touchdowns. The Bears signaled they’re not done looking for wide receiver help before training camp practice begins on Wednesday. On Monday, reports surfaced that Chicago visited with former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver DJ Chark. Chark met with the Bears NFL.com's Christian Gonzales suggested that Chark could be available for the Chargers after Mike Williams announced his retirement from the league last week. “There is an opening for Chark to pursue a possible reunion with the Chargers after veteran wide receiver Mike Williams informed the team this week that he is retiring from the NFL," wrote Gonzales. “Only time will tell if Chark gets a call from the Bolts or another team in search of a crafty veteran wideout. If he does, Chark says he’s still staying in shape.” Allen’s name immediately came up as an option for the Chargers when Williams’ announcement became public. If the Chargers decide to give quarterback Justin Herbert a familiar pass catcher by signing Chark, it would make sense for Allen to be in the mix to join the Bears in 2025. After all, the Bears let the league and Allen’s agent know they’re looking for a veteran receiver.
If the Atlanta Falcons are serious about the idea of potentially moving on from tight end Kyle Pitts in a contract year, they just got some bad news that could possibly impact the quality of the offers they'll receive this summer. There's a new veteran tight end on the free agent market and it may serve as a distraction or pivot for any team that was entertaining making a major offer for Pitts. This new direction would come without the need for losing a draft pick in the process. The Seattle Seahawks have waived veteran tight end Noah Fant — another tight end with a first round pedigree who boasts a dynamic athletic profile for teams to consider. Seahawks cut Fant in a cost-cutting measure Fant leaves Seattle after three seasons of play as the Seahawks lean into their younger group of tight ends. He's a sufficient level blocker but offers top-tier speed and athleticism for an NFL tight end, even if it hasn't translated to top-flight production throughout the bulk of his NFL career. Any team that may have been eyeing a tempting offer to send to Atlanta for Pitts can now find many of the same physical traits in Fant. Fant did enter the NFL two years earlier in 2019 versus Pitts' arrival in 2021. But he ran within 0.06 seconds in the 40 yard dash, jumped six inches higher than Pitts in the vertical, ran three-tenths of a second faster in the three-cone drill, and ran more than a tenth of a second faster in the short shuttle. Pitts has a more unique skill set thanks to his ability to play isolated as an 'X-receiver' and offers the higher ceiling as a result. Yet teams would almost assuredly gravitate towards another high-ceiling athlete at the position that wouldn't require a top-100 draft choice being sent away and will almost certainly play on a lower salary than Pitts' $10.8 million fifth-year option figure. This isn't necessarily bad news for the Falcons' 2025 outlook and it may not slam the door shut on any potential offers. But if Fant ends up lingering on the market for a while, it could string things out to the point where the window for a trade closes and the Falcons roll full-steam ahead for Pitts' contract year.
Jimmy Graham is calling it a career. The veteran tight end confirmed a report from John DeShazier of the Saints website that he’s indeed hanging up his cleats. After sitting out the 2022 campaign, Graham returned to New Orleans for the 2023 season. After hauling in four touchdowns that season, the veteran wouldn’t commit to the 2024 campaign and ultimately didn’t end up joining a team. Still, the tight end avoided an official retirement announcement until now. Graham was one of the most productive receiving tight ends during his early days with the Saints. Between the 2011 and 2013 seasons, the former third-round pick averaged 90 catches for 1,169 yards and 12 touchdowns per season. His numbers slowly declined as he approached his age-30 campaign, but he remained productive in stops with the Seahawks and Packers. Following a two-year stop in Chicago, Graham sat out the 2022 season before reuniting with the Saints for the 2023 campaign. Graham will finish his career having hauled in 719 receptions for 8,545 yards and 89 touchdowns. He also amassed over $82M in career earnings.
The Chicago Blackhawks are likely to trade one of their three healthy goalies before the regular season begins, and the Edmonton Oilers are emerging as frontrunners. NHL reporter Greg Boysen began the new week off with a flurry of fresh news across the NHL. In Chicago, excitement continues about the prospects of the team, and two old stars weigh their future. Rumors about a possible additional goaltender on the Blackhawks' roster being traded also began. Postmedia's Kurt Leavins wrote that the Edmonton Oilers were having a look at trading for Arturs Silovs, but the Canucks wouldn't make the deal within their division. Arturs Silovs ended up with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Oilers are still looking for a goalie and Chicago has three to choose from That means Oilers GM Stan Bowman is still on the lookout for a goalie. Chicago might have three NHL goalies report to training camp healthy, and that might leave open trade possibilities. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland reported on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio that Anze Kopitar is not looking for a contract extension and will sign year to year. The 37-year-old captain, in the last year of his deal, has played his entire career with the Kings, scoring 440 goals for 1,278 points in 1,454 games. Twice the recipient of the Selke Trophy, Kopitar's future after this season is questionable. Another possible future Hall of Famer in the last year of his contract, Alex Ovechkin, told Russian media that he has he has had no discussions regarding an extension with the Capitals. no discussions regarding an extension with the Capitals. Blackhawks and Oilers supporters will be watching the situation between the goalies tightly, and we expect things to come into focus over the next few weeks.
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