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PUBG: New State release date and the rest you need to know

All the info so far on the upcoming battle royale, PUBG New State

PUBG: New State release date and the rest you need to know
May 31, 2021 - you can now apply for PUBG New State Alpha testing in the US, starting on June 11th (Android version)

In late February, KRAFTON Inc announced PUBG: New State for both iOS and Android. It was quite the surprise, particularly since PUBG: Mobile technically only fully launched in September last year, despite also recently celebrating its third anniversary. So we weren't expecting a PUBG Mobile 2 anytime soon but it looks like KRAFTON Inc are on hand to provide one.

If you've found yourself on this page, you're probably on the hunt for all the information on PUBG: New State you can gather. Whether that's the latest news on the release date or how different it will be compared to PUBG Mobile, we've got you covered. Here's everything you need to know about PUBG: New State, so far.

What is PUBG: New State?

It probably won't surprise you to learn that PUBG: New State is a battle royale. It's what the series is known for so the developers were never going to stray too far from that setup. As you'd expect, at the start of the game 100 players will be dropped onto a map before battling it out to be the last one standing or the 'Lone Survivor'.

The action takes place in the Blue Zone, a giant circular area that will continuously shrink throughout the match, meaning players will have to stay on the move. They will be able to loot buildings for weapons and other consumables to help them battle against other players alongside commandeering vehicles to travel around the map at greater speed and possibly run down a few enemies on the way.

How does PUBG: New State differ from PUBG Mobile?

It all sounds pretty standard fare so far, right? But PUBG: New State will introduce some new features, both technically and mechanically, to distinguish itself from PUBG Mobile. The first of those is from a graphical standpoint. Let's be honest, as fun as PUBG Mobile is, it's never been the prettiest game to look at.

KRAFTON Inc is looking to change that perception with New State launches. It will make use of a technology called Global Illumination that promises to deliver ultra-realistic graphics, that are beyond what we're using to seeing in mobile games. Not only will it look better, but KRAFTON Inc has also said it will play much more smoothly online as well, a must-have in any competitive shooter.

Mechanically it will introduce new elements to the tried and test battle royale genre too. Players will be able to use weapon customisation kits to modify their guns on the fly. These can enable various performance changes such as fire mode selection or adding grenade launcher attachments.

Beyond that, there will be a bunch of different tools to make use of such as drones, which can presumably be used to survey the area and mark enemies. Players will also be able to perform combat rolls, which could prove incredibly useful for avoiding incoming enemy bullets.

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Any details on the PUBG: New State map?

An important ingredient for any battle royale is the map, since it's where you'll likely be spending multiple hours at a time, the developers have to get it right. We don't know an awful lot about the PUBG: New State map just yet, but KRAFTON have provided a few pieces of information.

New State is set in 2051, many years after PUBG Mobile, so we can expect to be battling it out to become the last person standing on an entirely new map. It's called TROI and will be home to various landmarks and interactable objects that will apparently allow for the deployment of new strategies.

What is the PUBG: New State release date?

PUBG: New State will release for iOS and Android on November 11th. You can pre-order the game now over on the App Store and Google Play. Ahead of the full launch, Krafton will hold one more Technical Test from October 29th to 30th. It will be available in selected regions, including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Maldives, Laos, Saudi, UAE, Yemen, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Oman, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Turkey.

Any word on phone specifications?

PUBG Mobile is known to be a fairly demanding game, so much so that PUBG Mobile Lite was created for folks with less capable devices. So it's reasonable to expect that the new one will also require a powerful phone or tablet.

Whilst we don't know the specs you'll need on iOS, we do have some idea of what to expect for Android devices. According to the game's Google Play page, you'll need to be running Android 6.0 or later with 2.5GB RAM or higher.

Will PUBG: New State be free-to-play?

One of the big draws of PUBG Mobile compared to the PC version of the game is that it's free-to-play. It's not surprising then that PUBG: New State will follow in those footsteps too and also adopt a f2p model. There are no details on what form these in-app purchases will take just yet but we can expect it will be a mixture of battle passes and in-game currency that can be used to buy various cosmetic items.

And that's everything we know about PUBG: New State, which is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated mobile games of 2021. We just need a release date and then we can really start to get excited about the next big battle royale game.

Stephen Gregson-Wood
Stephen Gregson-Wood
Stephen brings both a love of games and a very formal-sounding journalism qualification to the Pocket Gamer team.