The classic PUBG: Battlegrounds map Erangel that started the battle royale craze will be coming back for a limited time next month, PUBG Studios announced today.
Fortnite: Battle Royale was released in 2018 in the thick of PUBG‘s outrageous period of hype and popularity, and now it looks like PUBG will return the favor by taking some inspiration from Fortnite, too.
“We’re taking it back to where it all began–but with a few modern tweaks!” PUBG Studios said in a new blog post announcing the return of the map. “Erangel Classic preserves the essence of the earlier version of Erangel, its distinctive appearance and atmosphere, all while delivering the enjoyable gameplay experiences that players have grown accustomed to.”
As part of Erangel Classic’s return, the original map will also include the classic foggy and rainy weather that appeared at random, the return of bench weapons on the starting island, and even the vintage world map, minimap, match start timer, and “tacky font and graphics” that the studio is calling “a nostalgic journey that transports you to the past.”
The classic map will also feature classic, reduced recoil, and the almighty Tommy Gun will be found in care packages once again. So basically, it’s like being teleported all the way back to the game’s heyday of 2018 when it was at its jankiest state in early access.
PUBG truly did bring about the era of battle royale games. And then came Fortnite, and soon Apex Legends, and before we knew it, the BRs were all the rage. Their prevalence has died down a bit, but many still exist and continue to be updated to this day, such as Warzone and many others.
Erangel Classic will return to PUBG on May 14 but will only be available for two weeks and it will disappear again on May 28.