There was a time when PUBG enjoyed massive domination. The early-access battle royale game was a huge breakout hit, with a record 3.2 million concurrent players on Steam almost one year ago.

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PUBG's New Winter Map Vikendi 12 IMAGES

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“ It's my battle royale of choice, and try as I might, I haven't found anything to replace it.

But its numbers have dropped off, and while it's still one of Steam's most popular games, it's nowhere near its peak.Meanwhile Fortnite is unquestionably the biggest game on Earth, and Call of Duty's Blackout mode brings another big name to the battle royale battle royale. Against these heavy hitters, and with even CS:GO adding a battle royale and going free-to-play, PUBG isn't going to gain new players unless it does something drastically different.The new Vikendi snow map for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Fortnite's season 7 had dropped, and with it, a host of changes to the map, new inclusions, and an entirely new creative mode.Vikendi was available immediately following the announcement, for PC players, and only on the PUBG Test Servers. New maps are always exciting additions to game, but stalking enemy squads in the snow does little to change up the game.Don't get me wrong: the new Vikendi map is great. I've absolutely enjoyed my time playing the new map, and PUBG Corporation has done an excellent job with Vikendi. It has a superb mix of buildings, open fields, sweeping hills, and other landmarks. The new snowmobile is a fun alternative to the small vehicles found in other maps, and playing a PUBG match as the snow crunches beneath your boots shakes up the audio nicely.But really, it's more of the same. There is no huge leap in gameplay from the old maps to Vikendi. Nothing in the Vikendi map has that "oh, wow" feeling that could pique the interest of a non-player or make for insane viral videos. It is, however, a great way for people like myself, with hundreds (or thousands) of hours invested, to change the setting of a very familiar game.Compare that to Fortnite season 7, which uses its sole map to weave a meta-narrative, added a creative mode, and introduced biplanes to the game. Those are huge, game-changing additions in a game where each season is a huge event. People woke up early that day just so they could see what was new. Compare that to Vikendi: I haven't even been able to assemble my regular friends for a full squad match yet.For me, PUBG has always been a game of hide-and-seek first, and a shooter second. Vikendi has the right mix of buildings and natural structures like rocks and trees for me to play exactly the type of game I most enjoy. Running the path with the best cover while the circle closes in is like a chess game, where you need to think two moves ahead. Each map requires a different style of play, and learning to adjust and adapt to a whole new map is part of the fun... but only if you already have significant familiarity with the previous maps.I love the slow pace of PUBG. It's my battle royale of choice, and try as I might, I haven't found anything to replace it. Fortnight is a little too ridiculous, and its building mechanic turns me off. Blackout is fun, but it feels like it has too much of Call of Duty's spray and pray multiplayer mechanics.But as much as I love it, it's hard for it to attract new players, and harder still for it to regain its place in the overall gaming conversation the way Fortnite has. If PUBG wants to continue to thrive in the face of competition, it needs to do more than make additions to please long-time fans. A snow map is great for those of us who started playing version 0.6, but it won't help bring in new people.

Seth Macy is IGN's tech and commerce editor and ranked 867 in North America two seasons ago, and then fell from PUBG grace. Find him on Twitter @sethmacy