'PUBG' Season 8 brings huge map changes, Loot Trucks, and Sanhok 4 lore
PUBG finally gets a story.
Season 8 has finally come to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on PC, bringing with it an almost entirely rebuilt map on the jungle island of Sanhok, which has become overgrown with local vegetation. Along with a new Survivor Pass and other expected additions to the new season, the most enticing new mechanic is the Loot Truck, a monstrous automated truck full of valuable goodies.
Here's everything new to PUBG in Season 8.
PUBG Season 8 release date and launch time
If you're reading this, then Season 8 has already launched on the PC version of PUBG with the console update(s) due out on July 30.
It's a whole new world out there.
Sanhok Remastered Map Changes
The island of Sanhok "has been reworked from the ground up" to look and perform better and to "feel more like a forgotten, overgrown paradise." Many of the more prominent locations have been reworked for the new season, but by far the most notable improvements can be seen in the enhanced graphical upgrades to each location. Bootcamp, Quarry, Mountain, Cave, River, and many of the smaller towns on the island have been rebuilt. In many cases, the layout of each destination has also been adjusted in an effort to bring more balance to the overall experience.
Bootcamp should remain a hot drop that's high-risk, high-reward. (The above photo shows how drastically different the location looks now.) Quarry, which had been "terribly imbalanced" before, now has larger stone blocks to provide more cover and perilous rope bridges to help players traverse the area. Mongnai has also been transformed into an Airfield and the Docks are now called Getaway, "a loot packed resort town designed to separate tourists from their money." The Ruins have also been transformed into a towering collection of structures described as "labyrinthine." Not only do these many map changes improve how PUBG looks, but the entire island will also feel different than players remember.
The official patch notes go into greater detail on the specific changes.
Loot Trucks
Perhaps the single most interesting addition with the new season is the Loot Truck, some massive "self-driving trucks" that'll spawn from different garages around the island and then simply drive down the roads all over the island. Up to four can spawn at the start of the match, and they'll each drop loot as they take damage from players — "like heavily armed pinatas." If destroyed, a Loot Truck will give players access to fully customized weapons, which is a PUBG first, and a new truck will then spawn up to a total of eight trucks per match.
"These confiscated weapons are branded by their elusive previous users," a press release reads. Each of them will have a pre-applied skin and a unique name seemingly tied to the overall Season 8 theme of Payback.
A press release offers an interesting tease about these many changes from a narrative standpoint: "Rumor has it there was an incident on Sanhok of unprecedented nature," it reads. "What exactly occurred is not entirely known but the new Sanhok might reveal some clues." The Season 8: Payback pass includes items that'll provide some clues.
What's the deal with the Sanhok 4?
Who are the Sanhok 4?
Perhaps taking a page out of Fortnite's book, PUBG has been exploring lore within the universe that explains why the battle royale exists at all, and some of that lore involves "The Sanhok 4." A series of PUBG lore videos chronicle the exploits of these four dangerous individuals who compete in the battle royales. There are profiles for all four of them on the official PUBG website, and they all sound like potential villains you might see in a Fast & Furious movie. There's a former soldier, a violent bodybuilder, a total psychopath, and a brilliant engineer.
They've all spent time in prison, and the entire narrative of Season 8 involves players investigating the goals and location of the Sanhok 4 as part of the experience. It's an interesting evolution of the core PUBG experience that's worked for similar games like Apex Legends in the past. Consider us intrigued to see what might happen next.
PlayerUnknown’s BATTLEGROUNDS Season 8 is now live on PC.
