KRAFTON has launched a global beta for Ally Duo, a new arcade mode in PUBG: Battlegrounds that lets players team up with an AI character named Ella. The beta runs from June 17 to July 1, 2026, and is available to players worldwide on PC.
What Is Ally Duo in PUBG?
Ally Duo is a two-player arcade mode set on the Sanhok map. Instead of a human partner, the player teams up with Ella, an AI-controlled character built on PUBG Ally technology. The match starts in solo matchmaking and then pairs the player with Ella once inside. Each lobby is capped at 64 players, including AI companions and bots. Voice chat with other players is disabled in this mode. All communication runs through Ella, and KRAFTON recommends using the Team Only and Push-to-Talk settings.
Ella is not a scripted NPC. She is built on PUBG Ally, which KRAFTON describes as a Co-Playable Character (CPC). The system uses an on-device Small Language Model (SLM) powered by NVIDIA ACE. It processes voice commands locally and responds to in-game situations in real time, without relying on server-side processing.
How Does the AI Companion Work?
PUBG Ally uses Speech-to-Text (STT) and Text-to-Speech (TTS) systems to communicate with players during matches. Players can issue voice commands, and Ella responds by executing actions such as looting, moving, and adjusting tactics based on what is happening on the battlefield.
According to KRAFTON, the system goes beyond pre-scripted responses. It reads the live game environment and the player’s commands at the same time, then decides how to act. During fast-paced combat, Ella responds quickly. During broader strategy discussions, she factors in conversational context before acting. The mode supports three languages: Korean, English, and Chinese.
Because the SLM runs on-device, KRAFTON says latency is kept low, which matters during real-time combat where delays can cost a match.
Hardware and Platform Availability
Ally Duo is currently a PC-only feature. It is part of PUBG Update 42.1, which went live on PC on June 17 after maintenance ending at around 09:00 UTC. Console servers are scheduled for the same update on June 25, but KRAFTON has confirmed Ella will not be available on console at launch. No timeline has been given for a console rollout.
The AI workloads run on NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX GPUs on each player’s machine. This means players without an RTX GPU may not be able to access the Ally Duo mode.
How Does It Actually Work?
PUBG Ally runs a full pipeline. Speech-to-Text picks up what you say, the SLM reads your command alongside the current game state, and Text-to-Speech produces Ella’s spoken response. She can loot, reposition, cover you, and adjust her tactics based on what is happening in real time.
The key distinction KRAFTON is drawing here is that Ella is not reading from a preset list of responses. She is reading the battlefield and your voice at the same time. When the situation is fast, she reacts quickly. When you are planning, she factors in context before acting. The mode supports Korean, English, and Chinese.
Since the SLM runs on-device rather than through the cloud, latency is low. That matters in a battle royale where a half-second delay during a firefight tends to end badly.
PC Only for Now
Ally Duo is part of PUBG Update 42.1, which went live on PC following maintenance that ended around 09:00 UTC on June 17. Console players get Update 42.1 on June 25, but Ella is not included in the console version. KRAFTON has not given a date for when or whether that changes.
The AI runs on NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs on each player’s device. Players without an RTX card cannot access the mode.
