The influence ofPlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundson the gaming industry cannot be denied. The battle royale genre wouldn’t be where it is today withoutPlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,which established the game style and a lot of its conventional mechanics before other studios picked up on the idea. Although the originalPUBGisn’t the star of the battle royale genre anymore,PUBGis still doing well, with its mobile version drawing in billions of dollars and more games in thePUBGuniverse under development. Like its major rivalFortnite,PUBGalso still has the star power to stage major collaborations with famous entertainers, as the upcoming collaboration with Blackpink indicates.
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Fortnite and the In-Game Concert
Fortniteloves to put on a show. Specifically, Epic Games really seems to enjoy creating live, limited-time events withinFortnitefor fans to experience.Fortniteveterans probably remember when Epic Games staged a dramatic event in which players watched the game’s map get destroyed, which led up toFortnite’s rebirth in a major update after a brief outage. In a similar vein,Fortnitefrequently hosts live concerts. For instance, Epic Games arranged an extremely successful event with rapper Travis Scott that drew in tons of players andreportedly earned Scott $20 million.
This example and others fromFortnitehistory go to show that battle royales - and multiplayer online games in general - can be venues for all kinds of experiences developer experimentation.Fortnitefans certainly didn’t get into the game expecting to attend concerts, yet Epic Games has come up with all kinds of innovative experiencesusingFortniteas a venue. Considering the success of these events, it’s surprising Krafton isn’t planning anything similar forPUBGwhen it clearly has a strong working relationship with Blackpink.
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PUBG is Missing a Big Opportunity
PUBGis pulling out the stops in every other way when it comes to the Blackpink collaboration. There’s a wide range of cosmetics on the way, plus some major tweaks to the maps celebrating Blackpink’s work. If it’s going this far to work with Blackpink, it really ought to host a concert too. Putting on a concert inPUBGwould send a message toFortniteand other battle royales that it still has the clout to stage major events. Anynew ideas thatPUBGcould bringto a digital concert might also advance the concept in general.Fortnitegot the ball rolling on digital events of this type, butPUBGcould help popularize them further by innovating on the idea.
If there’s no Blackpink concert inPUBG,it’s clearPUBGhas missed a major opportunity. That’d be a shame, considering how much the brand is trying to expand. Krafton indicates there’s aPUBGsequel in the works, and fans are also well aware ofThe Callisto Protocol,a sci-fi horror gameset in the world ofPUBGthat should help flesh it out. Anything that Krafton could do to draw positive attention to this burgeoning franchise would help expand the brand. At the very least, Krafton should look toFortnite’s concerts if it ever arranges another collaboration like it has with Blackpink.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundsis available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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