PUBG's New Savage Map Enters Testing With Frantic-Paced Jungle Gameplay

PUBG gamers have a new map to look forward to that is in testing right now. That new PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds map is called Codename: Savage and it is notably different in setting and size than other maps available for the game. The Savage map is much smaller than other maps measuring in at 4km x 4km compared to the 8km x 8 km size of other maps in the game. It's also set in a tropical jungle location.

PlayerUnknown himself, Brendan Greene, has said that the smaller map will give gamers a "much more intense and faster paced Battle Royale experience." The test of the map is running on a server right now that requires a key to try, but PUBG has said that hundreds of thousands of more keys are available. Those will go quickly since there are so many players of the game around the world. You can try and claim a key, assuming any are left, here.

The map test is running until April 5 at 4 AM PT and reports indicate it won’t be the last test before the map launches officially. Another nice addition that is in testing right now is a Squads queue that is alongside the Solo queue. As you can gather from the Squads name, this will allow you to play with three other people in a squad.

PUBG devs warned on the Steam page for the new map and features that adding the extra queue for Squads will likely result in longer matchmaking during off-peak hours. Presumably, you can’t launch the game until all four people are ready to roll and that takes longer when there aren’t as many folks around.

The Steam page for the testing also calls out some other changes made recently to Codename: Savage map based on early feedback from gamers:

• Increased the item and weapon spawn rates inside residential buildings and small cabins to improve the looting experience along the outskirts of the map.
• The first blue zone circle will show up right at the beginning of the match so players can plan their strategy before parachuting.
• Blue zone time adjusted to speed up gameplay during the first phase of the match.
• Red zone frequency has been lowered
• There are now fewer explosions inside each red zone. The size of the red zone remains the same.
• Vans now spawn less often. The two-wheeled motorcycle spawns more often. Motorbikes with sidecars have been removed from Codename: Savage.