PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Will Start Selling Battle Royale Themed Outfits to Celebrate the First PUBG Invitational

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is venturing into the esports fray by announcing the Gamescom PUBG Invitation as hosted by Bluehole and ESL. It will take place at the eponymous gaming convention in Cologne, Germany and run from August 23 to 26.

As part of the invitational, Battlegrounds will finally include the ability to purchase cosmetic items on August 3. The first set of clothes will be based on outfits from the Japanese film Battle Royale, which was a direct influence on Battlegrounds. Proceeds from the loot sale will go towards the $350,000 prize pool as well as charities chosen by Bluehole.

Vanity gear was previously offered to Battlegrounds players through the purchase of random loot crates using in-game currency. To help celebrate the announcement, Battlegrounds will release two new crates, the Wanderer Crate and the Survivor Crate, which will include the new Battle Royale-inspired items. The third, Gamecom Invitation Crate, can be opened with a key you can purchase for $2.50 in real-life currency. It will include a more diverse set of themed clothing.

The Gamescom PUBG Invitational will host matches in Solo mode, Duo mode, Duo FPP (first-person perspective), and Squad mode over a period of four-days. The best overall score from three games will be crowned the winner, or maybe the Player Most Known? I don't know, I'll workshop that one.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds recently surpassed 5 million copies in the span of just a couple months. Using the Battle Royale film as an inspiration, players are forced to scavenge for items and weapons on a realistic 8 x 8 km island that slowly gets smaller, and smaller. It has taken the gaming community by storm despite still only being in Early Access. The full game is expected to launch by the end of the year, and will also come out on the Xbox One and Xbox One X.