PUBG hotfix helps correct matchmaking issues, full update coming next week

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Update 22 brought in player rankings and map selection, and also some technical problems.

Playerunknown's Battlegrounds update 22 brought with it some big changes, including (finally) a ranking system, a re-enabled map selection option, and faster queue times. It also introduced a problem with matchmaking that resulted in players being slotted into matches in inappropriate regions. 

"The improved system is intended to automatically send players to the region that provides the lowest ping, but unfortunately an error related to ping calculation occurred and the player’s location wasn’t being identified correctly, resulting in them being placed into matches in a region that didn’t provide the optimal gameplay experience," PUBG Corp explained in an update. 

"Due to the large number of players affected by this issue, the gameplay experience for many players has been impacted negatively and we sincerely apologize for this."

A hotfix that will (hopefully) keep players from connecting to the wrong local region has already been rolled out, and the developers expect to have a fix for the remaining issues ready to go sometime next week. Once that's live, PUBG will properly prioritize local region selection, and will shift players to the next closest region when matchmaking pools are too small to ensure they don't end up stuck in the queue forever. 

"We understand that issues like this are extremely disruptive to how you enjoy the game and we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our loyal players," the developers said. "Our team will continue to closely monitor this issue, both through data and player feedback." 

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.