Fortnite is dominating headlines, even outside of gaming communities and circles. Internet memes around the game have gone viral, cable news shows have discussed addiction and parenting in the context of Fortnite, and celebrities and athletes are expressing their love for the game through social media and...footwear. The level of virality of Fortnite is something PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds didn't quite experience by nature of the more serious and tactical type of battle royale, even though it was more or less the trend-setter.
But this had us thinking: Is Fortnite's success a sign that another game is right around the corner to siphon PUBG's player base if PUBG doesn't evolve? In the video above, GameSpot's own editors and producers explore this question. Given PUBG's technical shortcomings and Fortnite's relatively easy conversion, there are some potential franchises that could go battle royale and overtake the game that launched this style into the mainstream. By no means are we saying that PUBG is dying--it remains Steam's most popular game by a wide margin--but we're wondering what the future holds for a game we've poured hundreds of hours into.
Plenty of news has developed in the meantime and painted the battle royale gold rush in a different light: Fortnite is coming to mobile platforms and it will feature cross-play with PlayStation 4 and PC players. The premiere battle royale game just before PUBG came onto the scene was H1Z1 and it recently went free to play; although the H1Z1 player base is nowhere near that of its competitors, the new free to play model could change the landscape for these games. If you want a more direct comparison between PUBG and Fortnite, check out our video feature on how these battle royale games are drastically different.