Hero shooter Paladins is adding a new battle royale mode called “Battlegrounds,” an entirely unique addition that by no means is meant to reference any other game.
Paladins already looks a lot like Blizzard’s blockbuster first-person shooter Overwatch. Its all new game mode, showcased by a song that sounds a lot like 2002’s “Headstrong” by Trapt, features an island map where 100 players battle to be the last one standing. The YouTube description for the Paladins: Battlegrounds trailer reads, “Welcome to the first-ever hero-shooter battle royale.”
Announced at Hi-Rez Expo 2018, the mode will drop 100 players onto a big map and, as a fog closes in, players will have to knock out their opponents with weapons they find scattered about. Bombs will drop randomly on certain zones. A major variation is that Paladins champions have class abilities and, in Paladins: Battlegrounds, players will have mounts.
Paladins isn’t the first game to copy-pasta PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which last year, took over the world of PC gaming. Last fall, third-person shooter/fort-building game Fortnite iterated on Battlegrounds’ premise with a battle royale mode. That mode, which is free, has become wildly popular in the months since its release.