Staff – January 15, 2019 at 9:42 AM
It’s rare for a gaming phenomenon to seize the attention of the mainstream, even if just for a moment. Yet, in 2018, it seemed as though everyone — gamers and non-gamers alike — was transfixed by the newest, hottest trend in gaming: The battle royale craze.
By the end of 2018, the battle royale had completely embedded itself into the mainstream consciousness. Fortnite emotes suddenly began popping up on football fields across the globe, electronic musician Deadmau5 started screening highlight reels of himself killing popular streamers in PUBG as a part of his pre-show setup, and Brazilian pro footballer Neymar Jr. streamed himself playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s battle royale Blackout mode.
But the question is: Why?
In our new article series, Why the Battle Royale Is One of Gaming’s Biggest Cultural Phenomena, we’ll attempt to answer this question — with some help. For each entry in the series, we’ll focus on one battle royale title and chat with its developers about why they think the genre has become the widespread cultural phenomenon it is today. For our first installment, we spoke with Brian Corrigan, studio director at PUBG Corporation.
An abridged history of PUBG
First, a little background: Brendan Greene, the “PlayerUnknown” behind PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG), originally developed a mod for Arma 2 called DayZ: Battle Royale in 2013, which was itself based off the popular Arma 2 mod DayZ. Soon after, Sony Online Entertainment contracted him as a consultant to assist with the development of H1Z1 (a game that would later be split into the battle royale game H1Z1: King of the Kill and the survival game H1Z1: Just Survive), licensing his “battle royale” concept.
Ultimately, however, Greene felt that he wanted to pursue his own particular vision for a battle royale game. In 2016, South Korean video game company Bluehole approached Greene about developing an entirely new battle royale concept. Thus, PUBGPlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was born, a realization of Greene’s ambition to make a massive, realistic, and challenging battle royale game that still paid tribute to his early efforts as a visionary modder.
Following its release on Steam’s Early Access, the game was an enormous success. By the end of 2017, the game had broken records by maintaining a concurrent player base on Steam that numbered over 3 million. Renowned streamers like Ninja, Dr. Disrespect, and Grimmmz helped boost the game’s signal on streaming platforms. It set the bar for what a battle royale game could achieve, and continues to be one of the most influential battle royale games in the market.
An inclusive, narrative game mode
But just how did PUBG achieve such impressive numbers? Corrigan believes that the battle royale mode added a narrative dimension to the FPS genre that was largely absent before the mode was introduced. “While the objective of the game is obviously to win, not every game is really about that,” he explained. “It’s more about getting as far as you can based on the tools you are given. In that sense, every game is a new story, with a beginning, middle, and end.”
With so many variables at play, no two battle royale matches will ever be alike. With as many as ninety-nine new players every game, every encounter with another player becomes a chance encounter. The friction between what a player can and can’t control produces some unique storytelling opportunities, including silent, tense moments of waiting and climactic, life-or-death face-offs with opponents.
Encouraging randomness
Another reason PUBG managed to reach so many people is that it rewards a wide range of strategies. “I think there is something universally appealing about the fact that anybody can win using a variety of different tactics,” Corrigan said.
In many ways, the game’s randomness also allows it to have a much more universal appeal to gamers of all play styles and skill levels. No single strategy is a sure-fire success, and often survival can simply mean being at the right place at the right time. This premise allows it to comfortably house both casual and more ambitious players in the same match without compromising either group’s experience of the game.
“To lean into that, we’ve created different maps to fit various playstyles,” Corrigan said. By adjusting the maps’ sizes and layouts, PUBG Corp was able to offer variety in the pacing and tension of the game without sacrificing its original appeal: the promise of facing off with ninety-nine other players.
Hitting it big with streamers
Corrigan also argues that the multiple means of achieving success in the battle royale context made it especially appealing to streamers and content creators, who Corrigan credits as major drivers behind PUBG’s initial bloom in popularity. “PUBG allowed them to create hours of gameplay content with one game,” Corrigan said. “Since there are a variety of ways to play and win, it was engaging to watch, giving viewers a different story every time.”
In fact, Corrigan argues that the battle royale genre breached the mainstream consciousness in large part because of the streamers who played battle royale games. “In a lot of ways, I view the rise of both the genre and streamers as hand-in-hand,” he said. In his eyes, streamers helped launch the game from its humble beginnings as a niche interest for PC gamers into ubiquity. “In general, it’s great because when people aren’t playing the game, they are watching it,” Corrigan said. “When they aren’t watching, they are talking about it with their friends.”
What’s in store for PUBG and the battle royale genre
PUBG continues to grow, and regularly introduces content updates that contain new maps, weapons, and limited-time event modes. However, even larger ambitions hover on PUBG’s horizons. Corrigan explained that PUBG Corp is directing their attention towards cultivating battle royale as a budding esport.
“We see esports as an important factor in the genre and we’re working towards establishing it as a vital pillar in the coming years,” he said. “There is definitely room to evolve and it’s an aspect of the genre we’re looking to further define in 2019. Make sure to check out our Pro Leagues around the world.”
In the next installment of our ongoing series, we will continue our in-depth look at the battle royale trend by exploring another game’s take on the popular genre.
