The true power of the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds pan is far beyond what we thought was possible

The pan, widely thought to offer some sort of defence against getting shot in the back in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, can do more than just stopping a stray bullet.

If you play or follow PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, you'll no doubt have heard of the pan's overnight fame. After one streamer accidentally noticed it blocked a bullet meant for their butt, creator Brendan 'PlayerUnknown' Greene confirmed that this is in fact an intended feature.

From that moment on, players made sure to loot the pan whenever they found it, because you never know when it'll stop a bullet and save your ass - literally.

Thanks to new research by YouTuber Doom49, it's been proved that the pan is capable of stopping sustained fire from 50 players.

Now more than ever, the pan is an essential part of your late game kit. We only hope that a different skin for the pan is in the game's future, so we can flip it on the Steam Market for $$$.

In other, more serious PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds news, the studio recently announced an extension to the time the game'll be spending in Steam Early Access. Battlegrounds will now officially launch in Q4 2017.