PUBG Update 18.2 releases next week with the new map Deston

gamesradar.com:

PUGB Battlegrounds is ready to unveil its first new map since the battle royale went free-to-play (opens in new tab) at the beginning of the year: Deston.

"The wait is over. Our ninth new map we’ve been teasing about all this time is finally here this update," developer Krafton said in a blog update. "Welcome to the 8x8km near-future and ravaged world: DESTON!

"Deston (formerly known as Codename: Kiki) presents you diverse biomes – a flooded downtown embracing one of the tallest skyscrapers you’ve ever seen in PUBG: Battlegrounds, a murky swamp, clear coasts, beautiful mountains, and unexplored islands."

Deston - which hopes to "diversify gameplay" - will also include a raft of new items and features, including a new Airboat vehicle and the Ascender, which enables players to quickly ascend, be it to surprise an unsuspecting team or retreat from an attacking one.

Deston will roll out as part of the 18.2 Update on July 13 for PC, and July 21 for console players. As well as brand new locations, there'll also be an exclusive new weapon for Deston visitors, too. The 12-gauge slug shotgun the O12 has "superior accuracy and range compared to any other shotgun to make it more efficient in mid-to-short range encounters".

Did you know that The Callisto Protocol (opens in new tab) was ultimately separated from the PUBG universe because the team at developer Striking Distance felt the connection had become "disingenuous" (opens in new tab)?

Talking to GamesRadar+, Glen Schofield opened up about the game's surprising relationship with PUBG during a recent interview, which explored how The Callisto Protocol evolved when it felt "too much like Dead Space (opens in new tab)". Schofield maintained that the PUBG tie-in was never forced on