PUBG celebrates its 9th anniversary and wants to become the new gaming platform against Fortnite – FPSNews

PUBG has just celebrated its 9th birthday, and on this occasion, its developers pulled out all the stops to make the whole world understand that the game intends to stay in the race against the likes of Fortnite. More than a simple battle royale, PUBG is now a real dream gaming platform like Epic Gameswith varied fashions, external collaborations and an assumed global ambition. So, good idea or risky turn? We take stock.

PUBG, a monument in South Korea

To fully understand what is going on, you must first realize to what extent PUBG is an institution in Asia. While Fortnite dominates conversations in Europe and the United States, Battlegrounds remains le roi incontesté in Corée du Sud. The game’s anniversary was celebrated in style at a university gymnasium in Seoul, with developer panels, spectacular magic shows and K-Pop performances. In the trendy Seongsu district, fans can even head to a cultural space dedicated to gaming, with a themed café, an e-sports arena and a skate park displaying the guns in collaboration with the K-Pop group Aespa. It’s simple: you probably won’t find any other game celebrated at this level in an entire country.

Despite all this, PUBG studios want to go even further and reconquer the Western marketsparticularly among a younger audience. The game is still in the top 12 most played titles on Steam in 2025, which is far from ridiculous, but the team clearly wants to move up a gear.

La strategy Fortnite, take over and take revenge

During a presentation in Seoul, Taeseok Jang, Head of PUBG IP Franchise Grouplet it go without hesitation. PUBG is no longer considered as a single game internally, but as a long-term franchise with a very specific ambition:

“PUBG is no longer seen as a single game, but as a long-term franchise whose goal is to become a global cultural icon. HAS”

– Taeseok Jang, Head of PUBG IP Franchise Group

Concretely, this translates into the integration of game modes developed in collaboration with external studiosas well as experimenting with player-generated content, much like what Fortnite has been doing for years. The first concrete example of this vision is Xeno Pointa PvE co-op roguelite mode with a science fiction theme, available since April 8 directly in PUBG Battlegrounds.

Xeno Point: a convincing first test?

Xeno Point is PvE co-op for up to four players, with waves of aliens to defeat in linear levels taken from a revamped version of the Miramar map. Before each expedition, you equip your character with classic PUBG weapons (AUGs, pills, etc.) as well as capacités ultimes à cooldown really cool ones, like sending a swarm of explosive insects at your enemies. Between runs, you unlock permanent upgrades for your character, which gives a real feeling of progression.

It all ends with a boss fight par phases where you have to empty your magazines into glowing weak spots while dodging projectiles in every direction. This is where cooperation comes into its own: combining your ultimates at the right time, summoning a giant shield to resurrect a sheltered teammate… That kind of moment. Overall, Xeno Point is an honest mode, which changes a lot from the usual Battlegrounds, even if it lacks a little pep compared to the adrenaline of a top 10 in classic battle royale.

The Payday collaboration and the doubts that persist

After Xeno Point, it’s a mode Payday which arrives in May, developed with Starbreeze, the Swedish studio behind the Payday license. On paper, the idea of ​​integrating heist gameplay into PUBG is rather original. But knowing that Payday 3 was a fairly resounding flop upon its release, we can wonder if this collaboration really sends the right signal to attract new players.

And that’s where the real doubt lies. PUBG built its legend on something very specific : this unique tension of the battle royale, this slightly crude but deliciously effective gunplay, these moments of pure adrenaline when you are the last two standing. Wanting to emulate the Fortnite model with various experimental modes is one thing. But Fortnite started from a base that was already very arcade and colorful. PUBG has an identity much more anchored in realism and tension. Are his fans really here for roguelite co-op or heists?

What if the real answer was to focus on your fundamentals?

Improvements are also planned for the console version, with a better controller support and 60 frames per second as a bonus, which is really good news. But rather than chasing Fortnite by multiplying exotic modes, wouldn’t it be smarter to continue refining what has made PUBG magic since 2017? A permanent classic mode, an increase in server power, an overhaul of certain aging mechanics… these are things that would make early fans happy.

PUBG remains an absolute reference in the history of gaming, the game that popularisé le battle royale on a planetary scale. Nine years after its launch, it still has all the cards in hand to remain relevant. But trying to become a global cultural icon by copying Fortnite rather than embracing its unique identity risks confusing those who love it for what it really is.