PUBG’s new map has a name inspired by ‘fun’ and ‘chicken’

The next map coming to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds now has an official name: Sanhok. Previously known by its working title, Codename: Savage, Sanhok will be returning for testing later this week and “is now only a couple of months away” from being officially released, developer PUBG Corp. said today.

In an update posted to Steam, PUBG Corp. explained how it landed on the name Sanhok. The map is based on “islands across southeast Asia,” including Thailand and the Philippines, so the developer mashed up some Thai and Tagalog. Here’s the brief etymology of Sanhok:

First, the Thai word for “fun:” สนุก (pronounced like “sah-nook”)
Second, the Filipino (Tagalog) word for “chicken:” manok (pronounced like “mah-nok”)

Combine the two and you get Codename: Savage’s new name: Sanhok (pronounced “sah-nok”).

Sanhok will be available to play later this week in an open beta test. Anyone who owns a copy of PUBG on Windows PC will be able to take part starting this Thursday, May 10, at 7 p.m. PDT. Sanhok will be available on the PUBG Experimental Server on Steam until Monday, May 14 at 4 a.m. PDT.

We tried out the map last month and found Sanhok to be “a dense playground that will appeal to hardcore players and skilled teams alike.”