Paladins Battlegrounds is a new 100-player battle royale game that is coming after PUBG‘s place atop the throne, with the questionably titled free-to-play mode being introduced in Hi-Rez Studios’ shooter.
Like PUBG, Paladins Battlegrounds will be set on a large map (300 times the square footage of a typical siege map), where they will drop in and hunt for loot. Floating zeppelins will supply legendary drops, the game will be team-based and the winners will be the last squad remaining.
Everything from the concept to its name sees Paladins Battlegrounds wearing its inspiration on its sleeve, and considering that Bluehole previously called out Fortnite Battle Royale developers Epic Games for “copying” their idea, we imagine that Hi-Rez Studios’ efforts won’t be without scrutiny.
But this isn’t the first time that Hi-Rez Studios have been accused of “ripping off” other studios. When Paladins was first released, multiple comparisons were made between the game and Overwatch, Blizzard’s hugely popular squad-based shooter. That Hi-Rez hasn’t even changed the name of their game this time around will likely see them face similar criticisms this time around.
Fortnite Battle Royale proved that there is definitely a market for games that provide their own unique spin on the PUBG formula, and Paladins Battlegrounds seems like it’ll feature a few differences from Bluehole’s game, such as the introduction of mounts and abilities unique to certain characters.
Check out the trailer below: