PUBG producer: AFK farming is something 'we will definitely be addressing'

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has sprouted an idler problem—that is, players who join matches but don't actually play, letting their characters die while they accrue in-game currency just by being there. This allows the idlers to buy items to sell on the marketplace without putting in the hours of actual playtime everyone else does, and hampers the experience of genuine players.

It's not clear just from anecdotal evidence exactly how big the problem is: what we know is that multiple players have reported seeing a dozen or so idlers at a time in their matches, and that it is a viable way to earn battle points. In a recent story on the issue, Evan managed to find 13 to 14 idlers in a first-person PUBG server by waiting for the plane to eject him at the end of its route. 

Today at PAX West 2017, Evan had the opportunity to ask Battlegrounds producer Chang-Han Kim how developer Bluehole plans to deal with AFKers. In short, Kim says that while not many people are AFKing right now, the developers do want to implement some kind of change to stop it. That may be a matter of adjusting how players earn battle points, or "preventing AFKs as a whole." 

"It's something we will definitely be addressing," he added. You can hear Kim's full response, as translated by business lead Hyowon Yoo, in the video above. 

Evan Lahti
Global Editor-in-Chief

Evan's a hardcore FPS enthusiast who joined PC Gamer in 2008. After an era spent publishing reviews, news, and cover features, he now oversees editorial operations for PC Gamer worldwide, including setting policy, training, and editing stories written by the wider team. His most-played FPSes are CS:GO, Team Fortress 2, Team Fortress Classic, Rainbow Six Siege, and Arma 2. His first multiplayer FPS was Quake 2, played on serial LAN in his uncle's basement, the ideal conditions for instilling a lifelong fondness for fragging. Evan also leads production of the PC Gaming Show, the annual E3 showcase event dedicated to PC gaming.