PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Update 43.1 Goes Live With Kicks, Water Combat and the Jujutsu Kaisen Crossover

KRAFTON has rolled Update 43.1 live for PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS on PC, headlined by a brand-new kick action for unarmed combat, expanded options for players in and on the water, and the official PUBG x Jujutsu Kaisen collaboration landing on themed areas of Erangel. The full official Patch Notes – Update 43.1 post on PUBG's newsroom lists every change, and KRAFTON's own press release for Update 43.1 walks through the headline features.

Kicks finally arrive in unarmed combat

The biggest melee change in years, Update 43.1 introduces two kick actions in every mode: a Standing Kick (right-click on PC, LT on console) and a Jump Kick performed mid-air. Kicks hit harder and push further than bare fists, and they are not just for players — kicks can now break windows, wooden doors, wooden fences, jars and tires, smash open indestructible doors faster, and even knock items out of vending machines (at the cost of temporarily disabling the machine). The action can also be rebound in Key Bindings.

Water is no longer a death sentence

Water-surface and underwater play have been reworked. Players can now draw and fire sidearms and throwables while floating on the surface, swimming and diving speeds have been increased by 25 percent, surfacing now shows a water-droplet effect, and boats take standardized 50 percent firearm damage with increased overall durability. All-in-One Repair Kits can also repair boats on the surface, although the option is not available underwater.

Carrying and throwing items without inventory

A new Carrying and Throwing system (H on PC, LB+X on console) lets players pick up selected ground items without spending inventory space — including weapon attachments, healing and boost items, helmets, vests, backpacks, throwables and ammunition — and lob them straight to a teammate. Healing, boost and certain deployable items can also be used directly off the ground.

PUBG x Jujutsu Kaisen collaboration on Erangel

Update 43.1 launches KRAFTON's first PUBG x Jujutsu Kaisen collaboration, dressing parts of Erangel with themed spaces and visual elements that show up in regular matches. The crossover runs until the next update and was first outlined in KRAFTON's PUBG x Jujutsu Kaisen announcement.

LMG balance pass, Leaderboards and DLSS 4.5 / FSR 4.1

Light Machine Guns get a wide balance pass after the first LMG Meta Rotation proved too dominant: ADS transition time rises to 0.37 seconds for LMGs, RPD, M249 and MG3 recoil reductions while crouched or prone are reduced by 15 to 27 percent, vehicle damage multipliers are trimmed (M249 and RPD lose the bonus, MG3 drops from 1.25x to 1.1x), and RPD and M249 world spawn rates are cut by 30 percent. A new Career Leaderboard menu tracks seasonal wins, kills by weapon and Clan XP on top of Ranked standings. PC players also gain Settings > Graphics > Advanced toggles for NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 and AMD FSR 4.1 with manual or automatic quality selection on supported hardware.

Live maintenance schedule (UTC)

• PC: maintenance completed September 10, 00:00–08:30 UTC.
• Console: maintenance scheduled September 17, 01:00–09:00 UTC.

Additional changes in the patch include the return of Solo Deathmatch in Arcade, adjustments to boat durability and repair, parachute-activation tweaks, console hit-detection fixes, more custom preset slots and Ranked Season 43. The full breakdown, including all item, world and UX/UI fixes, is in the official Patch Notes – Update 43.1 on pubg.com.