PUBG-Style "Battlegrounds" Game Mode Coming To Hero Shooter Paladins

Paladins, a free-to-play hero shooter that has previously been compared to Overwatch, is launching a PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds-like battle royale mode. The new mode is simply called Battlegrounds, and it's coming to Paladins at some point in 2018.

Battlegrounds will spawn 100 players into a "massive map" that developer Hi-Rez says is over 300 times the size of a typical Paladins Siege map. Success in Battlegrounds will involve exploring the territory and looting its outposts for gear. Where Battlegrounds differs from PUBG, however, is that players are put into squads and must work together to be the last team standing. Check out a trailer for the new mode below.

Paladins is not the first game to add a free battle royale mode. Warface added a similar mode in November, while Fortnite added a free, standalone PUBG-style mode in September. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds developer PUBG Corp took issue with Fortnite's version, saying, "We are concerned that Fortnite may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known."

It's no surprise other developers have tried to emulate PUBG's formula. The game has been wildly successful, and recently passed 3 million concurrent users on Steam alone. That milestone came after finally reaching its full 1.0 release on PC. PUBG also launched on Xbox One in December, albeit still in early access. It was a quick hit there, selling 1 million copies in its first 48 hours. The game has now sold over 30 million copies across both PC and Xbox One.

Developer PUBG Corp. recently said it wants to bring the game to "every platform," so a PlayStation 4 release could be in the cards. Additionally, the developer said it has spoken with Netflix and people in Hollywood about extending the game to new mediums. For more on the hit multiplayer game, check out our PUBG review.