Chapter 647: Trial Play
Upon seeing the game’s name, many players were baffled.
“Jue… Jue Di Qiu Sheng? Not Jue Di Qiu Sheng (the climbing game)!”
“What’s going on? Weren’t we promised a VR version of Getting Over It? This… this looks like an FPS game!”
“The new game is actually called PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds! Chen Mo didn’t lie!”
“Damn, I’ll give it to Chen Mo for pulling a fast one. Now he’s even fooling people by telling the truth—can’t argue with that!”
“Big Liar Chen’s skills have evolved from Stage One, ‘Seriously talking nonsense,’ to Stage Two, ‘No one believes the truth anymore’!”
“And that CG is packed with content! Can someone explain what this game is actually about?”
As soon as the video dropped, the players’ excitement exploded!
After all the rumors circulating, most players subconsciously believed Chen Mo was really developing a VR version of Getting Over It. When the CG came out, they realized they were completely wrong. The game’s name just sounded similar to the climbing game, but it had absolutely nothing to do with it!
The CG was quite long, but since it was all recorded from in-game footage, it wasn’t too difficult to produce. It was packed with rich content, sparking intense speculation among players.
Clearly, based on the CG, an airplane carried 100 players to a deserted island, where weapons, items, and vehicles were scattered around.
These players parachuted onto the island, picked up weapons, and fought each other until only one remained.
The evidence was the line from the airplane: “If you’re not number one, then you’re dead!”
Within this game framework, players had plenty to do: they could hide, assassinate enemies, or engage in vehicle chases.
At the same time, players could acquire various firearms. From the video, at least ten different types of guns appeared, ranging from weak pistols to deadly sniper rifles.
There was even a ridiculously out-of-place frying pan.
As for the term “Battle Royale,” it didn’t exist in this parallel world, since there was no film by Kinji Fukasaku or novel by Koushun Takami with that name.
However, the literal meaning of “Battle Royale” was easy to grasp: a large-scale, multi-player survival and killing activity…
Once players roughly guessed the gameplay, their reactions were wildly different.
“…What’s the difference between this and a traditional shooter? The guns aren’t special, the cars aren’t special—they just changed the game mode?”
“I was a bit excited when I heard Chen Mo was making an FPS, but now I’m a little disappointed. Doesn’t seem very innovative?”
“No technological breakthroughs? Even with the Pangu Engine, it’s still just conventional firearms.”
“And this mode feels super unbalanced! If I parachute down and don’t find a gun while someone else does, am I screwed? What if I’m unlucky?”
“A shooter game that doesn’t give you a gun at the start? You have to pick everything up yourself? Wait, is there going to be some pay-to-win gun mechanic?”
“I actually think this mode is fun and fresh! It means strategies will be more varied, no more mindless shooting. People who are too flashy, even if they’re good shots, will die fast.”
“Makes sense, but the game’s name feels a bit creepy. Could this be a horror game?”
“Feels like… could it cultivate antisocial personalities?”
Opinions were divided, but overall, most players didn’t take this new game too seriously. The reason was simple: the hype wasn’t strong enough.
Take Wolf Soul: Modern Warfare, with its large vehicles and massive explosions. The trailer alone created thrilling, blood-pumping scenes that clearly set it apart from traditional Wolf Soul gameplay.
As for Blazing Assault 2, it focused on atmosphere and the protagonist’s emotions. Regardless of the plot, it at least gave off a deep, meaningful vibe.
As for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds… strictly speaking, this trailer only introduced a gameplay concept. Everything else wasn’t particularly novel.
It was like how many people in Chen Mo’s previous world reacted when they first heard about the movie Battle Royale: “That brutal? The Japanese sure know how to have fun! Interesting!”
But when it came down to it, most people still thought it was a niche gameplay style. It might be hailed as a classic by a small group of hardcore players, but it would struggle to reach the mainstream audience.
Many game reviewers said that while PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds could leverage Chen Mo’s domestic and international influence, it was ultimately an FPS game for a specific subset of players.
Regardless, the info was out, the smoke screen had cleared, and all players knew that the three major domestic game companies were rushing to produce new FPS games. The talk of a pre-New Year FPS craze wasn’t baseless.
Players also understood that all three companies had ambitions this time. The previous three FPS games had fought to a stalemate, and the 2.0 version of the FPS war would surely be even more brutal.
…
April 1st, the Experience Store.
Today was the day Chen Mo had announced in the CG for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds to open for trial play. But many players were skeptical—after all, it was April Fools’ Day…
No one knew if Chen Mo chose this date on purpose.
Many players came early in the morning, eager to be the first to try PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. After all, among the three Pangu Engine FPS games set to release after the New Year, this one was the earliest to be playable.
Many FPS enthusiasts were also curious to see if PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds could bring something new to the Pangu Engine.
Prusley, Li Bai—better known as Old P, one of the popular streamers for Overwatch—had traveled a long way to the Experience Store to check out Chen Mo’s latest FPS game.
Old P was a moderately famous streamer in the domestic FPS scene. He had good aim, a positive attitude, and a knack for witty banter. He was one of the earliest players to stream Overwatch in China and was a skilled Genji user. His stream’s peak concurrent viewers had once exceeded one million.
However, Old P could feel his stream’s popularity declining. During Overwatch’s peak, his viewer count had reached 1.39 million, but now it was down to around 700,000 to 800,000.
Old P was still doing okay, being a major streamer. Many smaller Overwatch streamers were worse off, with viewer counts possibly dropping to less than a fifth of their peak.
Currently, the three major FPS games were being squeezed on streaming platforms. There was pressure from single-player games like Dark Souls and Prototype, which had explosive streaming appeal, and from emerging mobile games like Honor of Kings. Meanwhile, the top League of Legends streamers remained rock-solid, and esports broadcasts were still hot.
It felt like a mix of internal and external troubles.
Old P was also a bit worried, hoping that the three new FPS games launching domestically this year could find a new breakthrough.