‘Fortnite’ requires 'more skill' than 'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds,' according to top-streamer Ninja — here's why

fortnite battle royale

Despite being very similar games in concept, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" ("PUBG") and "Fortnite: Battle Royale" are very different to play.
Due to its cartoon art style and less serious tone, many players consider "PUBG" to be the more challenging game.
The world's most popular "Fortnite" streamer (and former "PUBG" streamer), Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, said "Fortnite" requires "more skill" in a recent interview.

Like Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog before them, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" ("PUBG") and "Fortnite" are currently battling for title of biggest game in the world. Both games center around the same core concept: 100 people fighting to the death in an ever-shrinking island.

Beyond the two games competing for players, devotees of each are debating which is the better game, and the number one argument is related to skill.

The argument goes something like this: Since "PUBG" is more focused on shooting, and intends to more seriously model real shooting, it's the more difficult game to play. "Fortnite," in this argument, is the watered-down, "for babies" version of "PUBG."

Twitch streaming star Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, the guy who's making at least $500K every month streaming "Fortnite" for thousands of people, disagrees.

"A lot of people are like, 'PUBG' requires so much more skill because there's no building," Blevins said on a recent episode of the H3 Podcast. "Exact opposite."

Playerunknown's Battlegrounds

Blevins knows a little something about this — he's a longtime professional gamer who spent loads of time playing "PUBG" before switching over to "Fortnite." He breaks down the situation as such:

"If someone in 'PUBG' sees you from a mile away with a 15x scope, they can hide in a building and kill you. It's not difficult to shoot a gun and hit somebody. Gun skill is never the main reason why someone is talented at a game. It's literally their decision making."

Both "Fortnite" and "PUBG" follow the same formula of pitting 100 players against each other on an island that's shrinking in size. The main difference with "Fortnite" is that there's a construction aspect — you can build structures (or destroy structures) on the fly.

As such, a crucial aspect of defense is building structures to protect your character from enemy fire.

fortnite battle royale

Rather than making the game easier, Blevins argued, it makes the game far more demanding. "The shooting is not the difficult part — it's building," he said. "You'll find that there aren't that many talented players in every game, so if you just build simple structures you can win."

Not that he dislikes "PUBG," of course, nor is he saying it's a simple game. "The game does obviously require talent, but less in my opinion," he said.

Check out the full interview on The H3 Podcast right here: