Hello players,

As many of you are already aware, the recent Update 32.1 included a merge of certain regions.

We sincerely apologize for the high ping issues that players in some regions have experienced since the merge, which have negatively impacted your gameplay.

Since the update, we have been actively monitoring the situation and reviewing your feedback.

To address these issues, our team has been exploring various solutions and conducting server tests. We would now like to share the results and outline the next steps we’ll be taking.

• AMER region
  • As previously mentioned in our Dev Letters regarding matchmaking in Normal Match and the region merge, having a large player base is essential for skill-based matchmaking to function smoothly.
  • This prompted us to merge the NA (North America) and SA (South America) regions to improve the effectiveness of skill-based matchmaking by increasing the number of available players.
  • Before the merge, we conducted multiple tests and anticipated that the merge would result in only a slight increase in ping for both the NA and SA regions. However, after the merge, we observed that ping levels in the former SA region increased significantly more than expected, averaging over 170ms.
  • This was beyond our predictions and had a severe impact on gameplay. Upon identifying the issue, we immediately sought a solution and conducted several emergency tests to adjust server locations for both the NA and SA regions.
  • As a result, we confirmed that it is difficult to meet the needs of both regions simultaneously, which means it is impossible to provide a stable gameplay experience with these regions merged. Our goal with the region merge was to improve skill-based matchmaking while maintaining a stable gameplay environment. Therefore, we have decided to revert the AMER region to its previous state by separating the NA and SA regions once again.
  • This rollback is scheduled for December 2024, as part of Update 33.1. After the rollback, all party types and perspectives will return to their pre-merge state.
  • We have tried our best to implement the rollback as quickly as possible. However, due to the complexity of reversing the region merge, we have determined that the earliest feasible time for the rollback is with Update 33.1. We kindly request your understanding regarding the timeline and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you’ve faced, as well as for the wait leading up to the December update.

• OC region
  • The purpose of the merge for the OC region was also to improve matchmaking and offer a wider variety of game modes.
  • However, the situation in the OC region differed from that of the AMER region.
  • The player base in the OC region has been declining over the years, to the point where maintaining smooth gameplay service has become increasingly challenging.
  • Given this situation, we concluded that preserving matchmaking should be our priority.
  • Therefore, we will not be rolling back the OC region, and it will remain in its merged state.

*The actions explained above apply to both PC and Console platforms.

Once again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the issues related to the region merge.

We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to implement these changes.

PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Team