> cod blackout is significantly better mechanically, and just as much of a 'milsim.'

I beg to differ. It has a pretty arcadey gunplay (well... it's CoD). Nowhere near close to PUBG's ballistics. It's pretty much point and click. I can see the appeal, but it's not for me.

Calling it a milsim though...

> twitch has largely pivoted already..

At the time of writing PUBG has more viewers on Twitch.

> PUBG doesn't have much special left

Disagree. It's a niche, but one no game has been able to fill. Every single player I know that left for Blackout ended up coming back to PUBG. It's still its own kind of game.

> The building mechanic you dislike, seems to me to be a crucial ingredient that makes so many love it [0]. The continually evolving meta-game and diverse game modes also help elevate it above the chaff.

Mate, you don't have to defend Fortnite so vehemently. I know it's probably a great game, I just dislike it and no amount of talking will turn it into my type of game.

Fortnite is free, pubg isn’t. Keep that in mind when comparing.

Tell that to anyone who has a kid playing Fortnite. They're either spending money or declining to spend money constantly. Fortnite is free in the sense that it's free to walk into a bar.

I've really enjoyed my 20hrs+ playing fortnite without spending any money through the platform. I'm happy for other people to pay for useless items and subsidise my experience.

pubg also tries to encourage you to buy cosmetic items, and I know that people's kids feel they have to do this. But I have never paid a dime and I pwn them all the time. The parents should simply tell their kids no, and to git gud. I am a parent too, this isn't at all a hard thing.