PUBG: DED.NET Closed Beta Hands-On: A Wild New Take on Battle Royale
Don't Let the PUBG Name Trick You
This past weekend marked the official Closed Beta for PUBG: DED.NET, with NDAs lifted and streaming allowed. I’ve followed the game since its earlier days as Project Valor, and it has come a long way. Don’t let the PUBG name fool you into thinking this is a sequel or “PUBG 2.” It is an entirely new multiplayer FPS that reworks the battle royale formula with roguelite progression, a dark 1990s Cascadia setting, and deliberately over-the-top chaos.
From developer interviews, the project grew out of a mandate to reach a broader American audience while deliberately stepping away from pure PUBG similarities. Creative director Dave Curd has described the goal as spreading “the gospel of PUBG to the non-believers” by preserving the core themes of desperate, dog-eat-dog survival while reinventing the structure and tone. The result is a console-first, free-to-play experience headed to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, developed by PUBG Madison and published by Krafton.
Official Pitch
The official site puts it this way:
“PUBG: DED.NET is a new multiplayer FPS that combines shooter gameplay with roguelite progression across runs, giving players new ways to experiment, adapt and build their own approach in the strange and unpredictable world of 1990’s Cascadia. Grunge Music. Body Horror. The Occult. DED.NET is a dark, dark place. But you’ll never feel so alive, even when you die. You’ll come back better.”
The tagline “Death is Only the Beginning” is more than marketing. A match lost is never a run wasted. What you scavenge and the choices you make change how you fight in subsequent matches.
What Makes It Different
The core loop is a multi-match “run” or career. You start by picking a character and a starter deck of abilities,assault, support, troll, etc., then play a series of shorter, denser matches. Between matches you gain ROMs, like the 1990s game cartridges you smash into your body for new powers. There are many of these, ranging from practical upgrades to wild body-horror transformations.
You can also accumulate injuries that hinder you in funny or punishing ways, fumbling weapons on swap, struggling to swim, occasional taunt spam that gives away your position, “Stuntman” explosions when you slide, etc. Manage the build carefully or the injuries pile up and force you to retire the run or labeled as burnout. The design deliberately leans into unfairness and story-generating moments rather than perfect balance from the start of every match.
Standout transformations that define the current build include:
Pig suit: juggernaut-style armor. Powerful, but you’re marked on the map and move slower.
Blade hands: replace your hands with blades and go full melee massacre.
Doll form: turn into a small porcelain doll with a drill that can jump onto players’ backs, drop their gun, cause damage and eventually kill them without causing them to be downed.
Other chaotic tools include using car doors as riot shields, light cannibalism, hacking payphones or vehicles for mischief, and more. Matches support around 60 players in trios on denser maps set in locations like Cryptid Cove.
The aesthetic is pure “Grunge House”: 1990s Pacific Northwest vibes filtered through Twin Peaks, X-Files, Cronenberg body horror, grindhouse cinema, Nirvana, and Tarantino. Licensed-era music and an ultra-violent gameshow framing complete the package.
Closed Beta Impressions
A lot has changed since earlier playtests, and the current build has generated a lot of positivity in the official Discord. The game feels like a genuine new category of battle royale, faster and more aggressive than classic PUBG, with the roguelite layer giving every run a sense of progression and personal fantasy-chasing. Even losses feed the next match with new ROMs and story potential, which softens the usual “hot drop and done” frustration.
The team continues to listen closely to feedback and integrate ideas. If you get the chance, the sign-up page and official Discord remain the best places to watch for future playtests and updates. Pre-registration and beta interest run through the official site at ded.net.
PUBG: DED.NET is still early, with no full release date announced, but the closed beta shows a studio willing to take big, divisive swings. It’s not trying to please everyone and that’s exactly the point.
PUBG Madison, KRAFTON, Inc.
Sign-up now to get on the waitlist for our upcoming October Closed Beta. PUBG: DED.NET is a multi-player FPS with roguelite elements set in 1990’s Cascadia.
If you enjoy my article don't forget to drop a like and a follow. I have an official discord I drop Playtest keys into and Livestream primarily on Tiktok.