PUBG Update 44.1: Vehicle Buffs, Trunks and LMG Rollback

Update 44.1 is the patch where PUBG gave up on its first Meta Rotation and gave its cars a durability pass. KRAFTON's Update 44.1 patch notes went up on 3 November 2026, and the same day a Dev Letter said the LMG experiment would end early.

When 44.1 reaches your platform

As of 8 November, PC is on 44.1 and console is not. For four more days, console lobbies still run the LMG balance from Update 43.1. The controller input changes below are console-only in 44.1 and reach PC in the December 44.2 update.

The LMG Meta Rotation ends early

The headline change. KRAFTON's notes say the first LMG Meta Rotation "will end" and that, counting the September adjustments, LMG balance is restored to its pre-Meta-Rotation level. Six things go back to their pre-August values:

• Reload time
• Recoil
• Aiming speed (ADS)
• Damage multiplier against vehicles
• Recoil control from firing stance (crouch and prone bonuses)
• World spawn amounts

The RPD, the LMG added in August, stays in the game but is "balanced to a similar level to other LMG weapons." The Dev Letter says the M249 and MG3 return to their pre-August state. KRAFTON's stated reason in the Dev Letter is that LMGs "became a stronger option than we intended." The studio says it will return with a new Meta Rotation in 2027.

Two practical points. The notes publish no new RPD numbers, so how far it moves is not stated. And the reload and recoil values you drilled in August and September no longer apply on PC. Our Meta Rotation post covers what the 42.3 and 43.1 numbers were, and the LMG ranking is the place to check the class against ARs after the revert.

The Dev Letter also ties LMGs to cars. It says the August changes made vehicle use more stressful, affecting explosion, tire destruction and BRDM metrics, and that those returned to pre-August levels after the September update. That is the context for the next section.

Vehicle health and tires

The notes call this a balance pass meant to increase "vehicle survivability and usefulness." Health rises 8% to 15%, by group:

Tire durability goes up for only some vehicles:

Two vehicles get handling work as well. The BRDM-2 gets better acceleration and hill climbing, "to allow smoother driving on hilly terrain," and a higher maximum speed. The Buggy gets more tire friction "to mitigate excessive sliding on certain terrain."

What the notes do not give is base health or base tire values, so a percentage is all you can compare. Nor do they say what a given gun now needs to flatten a tire. The big-body vehicles have the largest tire gain on the list, which fits the rest of the patch: the same three vehicles also gain trunks. For how to fight in and around cars, see the vehicle combat guide, and for the roster see the vehicle ranking; both predate these numbers.

Trunks on the Van, Pico Bus and Food Truck

A trunk function is added to the Van, Pico Bus and Food Truck, with a capacity of 300. The Coupe RB's trunk capacity rises from 100 to 120. The notes do not say whether other vehicles' trunks change, and they do not list the Van's, Pico Bus's or Food Truck's trunks as having existed before.

Trunks matter for Blue Chips. The same patch adds an observer-side change: the owner's name is now displayed on Blue Chips stored in vehicle trunks, as the screenshot above shows. KRAFTON lists that under its observer-mode changes. If you want to know how Blue Chips and the Recall flow work, the Recall guide has it.

On console, the controller fix in this patch concerns trunks directly: moving items to the trunk was sharing a button with weapon slot change in the inventory. They are now split, with Move Items to Trunk on a hold of the L-Stick and Weapon Slot Change on a double-tap of LT, for the Type A, B, C and Custom presets.

Dawnbreakers returns as Nightmare

Dawnbreakers of Rondo ran from 43.2. Under a heading that reads "HLB: Dawnbreakers of Rondo," the 44.1 notes bring it back with one difficulty:

• Nightmare replaces Rookie and Veteran.
• Only Jadena City remains of the six stages, and stage and difficulty voting is not held.
• Hungers are stronger and more varied: more attack power and HP, more frequent spawns, a wider variety from earlier phases.
• More fuel canisters are needed to activate the generators, and the final capacitor defense is harder.
• Four-player balance, solo allowed. The mode is balanced for a four-player squad with no scaling by team size, and you can join as a solo player.
• Leaderboard: fastest Nightmare clear times appear on PUBG Bridge.

Our Dawnbreakers explainer describes the 43.2 run, with its Rookie and Veteran tiers and the 4 November and 12 November end dates. Those dates and tiers are superseded by the table at the top of this post.

Xeno Point: Hell

Xeno Point, the PvE roguelite mode, returns on 18 November on PC and 26 November on console with a single Hell difficulty. According to the notes:

• Difficulty varies by sector. Sector 1 is the previous Normal level, Sector 2 the previous Hard, and Sector 3 and the Mothership the previous Impossible.
• Squad-size scaling (1-4 players). Enemy HP, attack power and currency rewards adjust to how many players are in the squad, including when someone joins or leaves mid-stage.
• Reloading with a vest no longer grants invincibility. It now temporarily reduces damage taken. The invincibility from Super Skills and healing stays.
• Death penalty: one randomly chosen equipped weapon or gear item is removed, plus everything in the inventory, as before. Leaving a match mid-stage carries the same penalty.
• Skill changes: Starter Boost gives an Adrenaline Syringe at the start of your next session after death; Prime Striker and Prime Conduit let you start without losing weapons or gear respectively.
• Contender skins and progressive weapon skins cannot be used. A Contender skin equipped is swapped for the default character.

The fastest Mothership clears get a leaderboard on PUBG Bridge.

Smaller changes worth knowing

• Console input timing (console now, PC in 44.2): the tap-versus-hold threshold drops from 0.3 to 0.2 seconds for gameplay actions such as prone and throwing, and from 1.0 to 0.5 seconds for other actions such as menus. KRAFTON says this follows feedback after the 43.2 controller changes. The console settings post covers the platform's other recent changes.
• Message Radial: once activated by holding the R Stick, it stays open after you release the stick, and B or RB closes it without selecting a message.
• Kicks: a kick no longer cancels your emote during the pre-match wait, and players on slopes are no longer pushed excessively far. See the kick guide.
• Observer mode: on PC, the spectator screen shows the spectated player's Blue Chip count, and pressing I opens their inventory. On all platforms you can view the inventory while spectating an enemy.
• Item spawns: spacing between items spawned in one area is adjusted so they overlap and hide behind one another less.
• Ranked Season 44: a P90 Ranked Weapon Skin is a permanent Tier Reward, the leaderboard resets at maintenance, and the minimum achievement standards are raised for Platinum and above. Our ranked guide has the system.
• Special Disassembly: you can now get Artisan Tokens by using Special Disassembly on Contender items. See the Workshop guide.
• Normal matchmaking: NA console loses Solo (FPP) and Duo (FPP), APAC console loses Duo, and several regional modes run only at set daily hours. Skill-based matchmaking is also adjusted, and KRAFTON warns wait times may rise in some time zones and modes.
• PGC 2026: a PGC theme goes on the Starting Plane and on map billboards, and PUBG Fantasy returns for PGC 2026. See the PGC qualification post.
• PUBG x IVE: a collaboration is part of the update; KRAFTON's notes point to a separate announcement for details, and this post does not cover it.

Crates leaving in December

Some crates and their keys will be removed in Update 44.2 in December. If you still hold them then, compensation is granted in December. KRAFTON's list shows, for example, 6,200 BP for the Gamescom Invitational Crate and 3,600 BP for several others; read the full table in the notes for your crates. Steam Marketplace trading of items scheduled for deletion is restricted as of the November 2026 update, though KRAFTON says enforcement "may take some time to apply."

Quick Action Checklist

• On console? 44.1 lands 12 November; until then LMGs still carry the 43.1 balance
• On PC, drop August-era LMG muscle memory: reload, recoil, ADS and stance bonuses are back to pre-August values
• Do not expect the old vehicle damage bonus from an LMG; the multiplier is reverted along with everything else
• Expect cars to take more fire: 8-15% more health, up to 75% more tire durability on the big-body vehicles
• Stash gear in the Van, Pico Bus or Food Truck trunk (300 capacity), or the Coupe RB (120)
• Dawnbreakers is Nightmare-only on Jadena City; PC until 25 November, console until 3 December
• Xeno Point: Hell opens 18 November on PC and 26 November on console
• Holding old crates or keys? Use them before December or take the BP compensation