Snipers in PlayerUnknown's BATTLEGROUNDS have received a new weapon in the form of the Mosin-Nagant, but it's just a different-looking Kar98k when it boils down to the statistics. Recently, players in PUBG have been awaiting the return of the snow-covered map Vikendi, and passing the time by enjoying the game's recent inclusion of rocket-powered grenade launchers in Kakarin.
PUBG has remained popular despite competitors like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone also emerging as potential choices for battle royale fans. From April Fools' Day pranks which saw strange fantasy attire and vehicles to anniversary skins and the introduction of a very entertaining team deathmatch mode, PUBG's developers have attempted to keep the game fresh and entertaining so players will continue coming back, and although sometimes that means things must be pulled and reworked every now and then (like Vikendi) the eventual final product is usually worth the extra effort. Now, PUBG is adding yet another new weapon, but in a different way than they've done in the past.
According to the developer's own patch notes available to view on the PUBG website, the new Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle is a Kar98k "for all intents and purposes," with all of the weapon's "stats, attachments, ammunition, etc... directly copied from the Kar98k." The company states that they are duplicating the Kar98k's statistics in hope that it will help to maintain balance while they continue to add new weapons, and are trying to avoid the issue of the game offering "just too much choice, especially when a certain few weapons remain the most popular picks over everything else."
While the Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle in PUBG will have its own unique design and sound effects, everything else will be exactly the same as players are used to from the Kar98k. Like with many of the updates and changes to PUBG, the developers have asked for fans to give them feedback on this decision, and says they are open to adjusting the Mosin-Nagant's statistics in the future if enough fans request it. The developers state they want to give players "more weapon diversity without diminishing the availability of weapons you love to use," but consents that this decision "might be met with mixed feelings."
If it has exactly the same statistics as the Kar98k, it doesn't sound like PUBG's Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle is a new weapon at all. Instead, it simply sounds like the developers have given the Kar98k an increased drop rate and changed the skin design of half of these weapons distributed throughout the map in this latest PUBG update. It's up to the community whether an addition like this will stick around, but it seems like players would want weapons with more variety, not different versions of the same weapon. Snipers already have a pretty good amount of options in PlayerUnknown's BATTLEGROUNDS, but not so many that it's already time to start duplicating them.
Source: PUBG