Since November 2017, the gaming community has been dominated by battle royale games. The mode is extremely appealing to most players as it offers a significant feeling of success after victory. Players can mess around with friends or go hard solo for a victory. The genre offers a unique experience every game, unlike most arena based shooters. But when players talk about battle royale games they often ask the age old question, is Fortnite or Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, or PUBG, the better battle royale game?

For starters, both titles offer decent graphics. Fortnite is focused on a smooth cartoon graphic style that runs very well on most systems. PUBG however is focused on a realistic, dark shaded style. Any computer with a 9-series graphics card will have trouble getting 60 fps above medium settings. Xbox consoles also have choppy graphics due to the games requirements.

Gameplay for each game is very different. Fortnite is much more fast paced. Battles are much more common. Fortnite also features building which makes battles slightly more fair. PUBG has a very tactical gameplay feeling. Battles are less common but can be much more exciting. It can start out as two people trying to snipe each other but end as both move in and end in an AR battle. The longest battles can take upwards of five minutes.

Skill play is a very different concept in each game. In Fortnite, as long as you can hit a shotgun shot you can be successful. The best players fundamentally are those who can build faster and better than their opponent. Therefore, to improve your skill and win rate in Fortnite all you have to do it practice building. In PUBG, it is not that easy. PUBG is not a game you can win with reaction time or quick hands, and it requires a higher intelligence to outplay all your opponents. Due to the lack of building, you have to be knowledgeable of your surroundings before and during a gunfight. Weapons are also very unstable and require lots of practice to consistently hit your shots. Unlike Fortnite, the best players are the smartest players, not those with better reaction skills.

Having personally put many hours into both games on the same PC, I would have to prefer PUBG over Fortnite. I prefer the tactical gameplay and skill requirement over the building meta of Fortnite. Victories in PUBG are much more exciting and meaningful to me than in Fortnite.

Though I prefer PUBG, I just cannot claim it is the better game. Fortnite is so enjoyable to so many more people because it is so accessible. It requires no extensive gaming history to be able to pick it up and enjoy yourself. This is why many people around East who usually would not play video games very much have spent hundreds of hours on Fortnite. It is also a free game that features no pay-to-win content, while PUBG is a paid game. Many potential PUBG players are also turned away by the high difficulty over Fortnite.

Fortnite is dominating the gaming industry right now. This is potentially a good thing because it encourages other new games to be innovative to compete. Who knows how long the battle royale genre will stay popular. What will the next “big thing” in gaming be?