PUBG confirms map remasters are on the way, starting with Erangel

What do you do if someone else is stealing the spotlight? That's right, get a makeover - which is exactly what PUBG intends to do with some upcoming map remasters.

If you were paying attention to the PUBG subreddit last week, you may have spotted a variety of leaks showing changes to the game's original map, Erangel. Players managed to datamine files from the PUBG test servers, and quickly posted images detailing the addition of new compounds, tweaks to the terrain and an increased amount of "tier three" loot drop sites. More goodies for all, it seems.

Those leaks have now been confirmed by PUBG Corp, which explained it's working on "new ways to balance loot and otherwise improve our maps, Erangel being the first".

"We understand that loot balance is a very important part of the game but also recognise that the map layout is just as important, so we're working hard to ensure that any changes made to either will feel good when completed," the news post states. "We plan to start testing several potential changes to Erangel soon, and will share our plans for these tests in the coming weeks."

It's worth noting that PUBG Corp has not confirmed all of the leaked information: the news post says the images represent a "snapshot in time" rather than the "entire plan or scope of what's being worked on".

"The addition of compounds is just one thing we're testing internally, but is certainly not the ONLY way," PUBG Corp added. Maybe that highly populated map will never see the light of day.

Map remasters could be a great way to solve some issues relating to the distribution of loot on PUBG's maps, which many have said is too sparse outside of hot spots like Pochinki. The map changes have the potential to make the current community happier, and maybe even bring back some older players. At a time when Fortnite and Apex Legends are increasing their player counts while PUBG's seems to be slowly declining (on Steam, at least), this could help stabilise numbers - particularly as the introduction of winter map Vikendi brought a spike in interest. Let's see how this pans out.