PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is having a bit of a shake-up, courtesy of a limited time only event and a new Custom gameplay mode. The game made a name for itself thanks to its exciting Battle Royale gameplay, pitting players against each other in a fight to be the last combatant standing and earning itself a place among the top selling video games of all time.
However, PUBG has not been able to rest on its laurels following a wave of hugely popular rivals. In particular, Fortnite has been pushing hard as a competitor, breaking the concurrent viewer record for Twitch and generally dominating the market, in part due to its free-to-play entry point. As such, changes were needed for PUBG, and with a new map in beta testing it was clearly time for the game's devs to put some more content out there for fans.
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As such, Battlegrounds players can now access a couple of additional gameplay modes, including one limited time event. As outlined over on the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds website, the game is now host to the Tequila Sunrise event. This event, which runs until 7pm PDT on April 8, is a four person squad-based event on the Miramar map, pitting teams against each other with only shotguns and melee weapons.
On top of that, and the currently in-testing Savage map, PUBG has also been on the receiving end of a new game mode. Called War, this mode is only available under Custom games at the moment, but takes on much more of a Deathmatch vibe, pitting players against each other in an enclosed circle of Erangel. Whether or not War builds into a larger mode will likely depend on the whims of the game's developers, but hopefully this quick test for PUBG Partners builds into something more.
It's been clear for some time that PUBG needed to do something to stay as a key part of the gaming landscape, and not only because of Fortnite's huge success. There are undoubtedly going to be further rivals down the line, with recent rumors suggesting that the creators of The Division are making a Battle Royale game. As such, PUBG will need to make itself essential against an incoming wave of imitators.
Given that PUBG has been quite clear about its 2018 plans, it's a good sign that at the very least the game will continue to supply decent content for its current players, while perhaps trying to match the accessibility of other games as seen by PUBG's mobile release. Should these new modes prove popular, then there's every chance that the game will be able to build on them as well.
More: Can PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Remain Popular Long-Term?
Source: PUBG