[2022] Going free to play was the best decision for this game in the past several years

I remember buying this game in January of 2018. I ended up playing it as my main game until january of 2020, putting around 1100 hours into the game during this time.

Nothing else was like it. Every gunfight was a rush, with that rush being multiplied as the round went on. I was constantly shaking when I reached top 10. I couldn't get enough of it.

I remember going back to try the game out again in the middle of 2020, but bots were added. The game felt dead. Rounds were no longer high-stakes; I only encountered actual players in the final moments of a round. In addition, I rarely ever got to play my favorite map, Miramar. This ruined it for me, though I figured all good things must come to an end. I continued playing tarkov and slowly forgot about the game.

Then, after trying buildless fortnite with one of my friends, I got the idea to try pubg again. I remembered reading it went free to play earlier this year, so maybe games would be more populated.

Well, in fact, the situation was even better. Normal matchmaking no longer had bots, and all maps were on rotation. After one game, I got that rush again. Played another, had just as much fun. Then another, then another. I got to play pretty much every map in these games, including Miramar twice.

I'm back and it feels so damn good. All I really want now is for more players to realize this and come back. Either way, I'll be playing this game a lot more now.