PUBG Lite coming to Europe in October

The free-to-play version of Playerunknown's Battlegrounds for slower PCs is coming to Europe in October, developers PUBG Corp have announced. PUBG Lite is a separate standalone game, not a mode or option for the original. And yeah, it looks worse and it gets updates later, but also it's free and can run on a laptop with a cruddy Intel integrated graphics card - two huge barriers to entry removed. After debuting in Thailand in January, PUBG Lite will next come to European countries including the UK, Russia, and even Vatican City in open beta from October 10th. I bet The Young Pope loves a good Plunk with the lads.

PUBG Lite may have fewer polygons and texture pixels, but it's still largely the same semi-serious battle royale FPS. It's made for old and slow PCs, not for Fortnite players. Compare PUBG Lite's system requirements with the big one's. It does play a little differently by having such low detail that players stand out clearly, though sweaty Plunkers can already turn their graphics settings way down for a similar effect anyway.

PUBG Lite has slowly spread across much of South Asia, South America, the Middle East, and North Africa since January. You can see the list of countries in the open beta over here.

You'll note that they haven't announced plans for North America, though they still say they are "planning to expand our service in many other countries" and at this point I expect it to follow. If PUBG Lite is coming to Europe's relatively traditional premium PC gaming markets, North America seems more a matter of logistics than a question of target audiences.

The Young Pope would surely play proper Playerunknown's Battlegrounds rather than PUBG Lite, mind. He'll have demanded a custom-built turbocharged PC. The case is carved from marble and decorated with gold. Technically his PC is a reliquary, with the (holy) water cooling system flowing through Saint Peter's tibia. His mechanical keyboard uses the knucklebones of minor saints for a satisfying clickety-clack. He got PUBG Corp to replace Plunkbat's energy drinks with Cherry Coke Zero for his Steam ID alone by offering to canonise Brendan "Plunk" Greene. He's a scamp, that Young Pope.