ScreenRant is an entertainment website that offers news and updates on television, films, and video games. My experience in film and history with video games are what inspired me to try and write for their FPS gaming genre.
This client instructed that I provide a blog post, 3 blog pitches and give my opinion on what FPS could use the most content at the moment.
Prompt: Why PUBG Changed Its Name
Title: PUBG: Battlegrounds — A Name Change For Future Reference
Body: After its launch in 2017, PUBG became well-known for its realism-based battle royale. For those who haven’t played before, a battle royale is a game type where players are transported to an arena where they must find weapons and gear by roaming the map. The goal of the game is to kill other players while avoiding being killed. Players who are eliminated have the option to observe others in the game until the end. The final player alive wins the game and the glory of first place.
Following a title change on Steam, much of the community became aware that PUBG is now officially titled PUBG: Battlegrounds, which gives the same redundancy as saying the phrase ATM machine. In the face of community backlash, Krafton explained that the name change was due to setting the title up for future PUBG games. This can be confusing for some gamers, seeing that the title has yet to be changed in most other places on the internet, outside of PUBG’s own website and branding.
It seems as if they made the change as a company and decided to downplay the PR issues this brings at the moment for the sake of the title down the road. To expand their brand the way they want to, this change was a turning point and foreshadows future games. However, the negative existing press from the game’s history (buggy in the beginning conception, didn’t work well on consoles, etc.) makes it easier to continue to give this franchise negative reviews. While this could’ve been a ploy to get attention (any press is good press), this rebrand would’ve gone smoother if they committed earlier in the game’s history. This begs the question of how planned out this change actually was.
While many gamers will get caught up in the redundancy of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds: Battlegrounds, in the long term it doesn’t really matter for the livelihood of the franchise. When other titles are released, the PUBG title start will make more sense and this entire ordeal will be something people can all look back on and laugh.
3 Pitches:
1. Halo Infinite introduces shared cosmetics amongst core types. This allows players to use the same visors on any of their spartan core variants.
2. Fortnite continues to push the limits of the skins they introduce to their game. Ranging from marvel to real celebrities, some players may have mixed feelings on how far the company is willing to go.
3. With the new release of Destiny 2 DLC, where will the line be drawn with sunsetting old content and increasing the pay wall?
What Online FPS Franchise Has The Biggest Need For New Content Right Now?:
The answer, in my opinion, is Titanfall 2. While in the same universe as Apex, this franchise is overlooked and underplayed for how much potential it has. Both Titan Fall 1 and 2 brought the concept of building-sized mechs into the same battlefield as COD-style mechanics and gun options. However, the story gets lost in the midst of PvP battle and there is little concrete additions to the game that make it worth playing over and over.
* This content is unofficial and not the final product for the brand.