PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) may be a game all about killing other people, but what many fans are obsessed with is trading stuff. Clothing and other cosmetic items are unlocked via in-game crates and this has created a huge community of traders, seeking the rarest items. Often they do this through the Steam marketplace, where some items can sell for hundreds of dollars. The other way was via personal trades, but that ends today.
PUBG will have its personal trade option disabled starting today. The reason, according to the developer, is abuse. Players are expected to earn and then sell some items in the game, with PUBG’s developer and publisher making a cut off the sale. What many players were doing though was arranging a sale through a third party service and then trading via the free personal trade option.
This is abuse according to PUBG Corp. and so they are taking the option away. They do promise to work on a solution that will allow it to come back though, saying “Once we figure out a way to prevent abuse, the restriction will be lifted.”
Buying and selling digital items on Steam and other gaming services has been a hot topic of debate over the last few years. Accusations of fraud and other illicit behavior have run rampant, and PUBG has been involved in a few of these controversies. Disabling this avenue of trading might be harsh, but the abuse was certainly there, so it’s not entirely surprising.
