Released just a few months ago, Player Unknown Battle Grounds also known as PUBG quickly shot to fame. The game offered a very innovative and unique game mode that hasn’t been seen before in the world of shooting games. Taking inspiration from the films Battle Royale and the Hunger Games, the game places 100 players on a map with one purpose: to be the last player or team standing. It also includes random “red zones” which put players at risk and an ever-shrinking play circle. If players are outside the play circle they will most likely perish.
This unique form of game mode guarantees non-stop chaos and fast paced action and removes certain aspects that annoy gamers such as “camping”. Other unique aspects include its randomization. Players must scavenge for weapons and items which have been scattered randomly across the map.
As with many popular games, PUBG’s success has brought in more than a few imitations. A PUBG-like game Fortnite has overtaken PUBG in terms of popularity recently, and many more have appeared in the Google Play Store and other platforms. So far, the company behind PUBG has sued 3 rival developers, claiming that their games are too similar to theirs.
This lawsuit bears a similarity to the Candy Crush Saga lawsuit back in 2014. Candy Crush Saga attempted to sue rival game makers for similar games. This attempted lawsuit brought in a wave of negative press for Candy Crush Saga and eventually they dropped their complaint. It is very likely that the PUBG lawsuit will have a similar outcome.
One can only assume that due to the success of PUBG, the number of Battle Royale style games will continue to grow, even with the current lawsuit. We might even see Triple A shooters, such as Call of Duty take advantage of this play mode in the future.
