It's time to settle the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds blue zone debate once and for all
Is it a force field or a gas cloud?
There are many age-old debates. Does pineapple belong on pizza? How do you pronounce gif? Star Trek or Star Wars? Well, now we have a new one to add to the list - what is the blue zone in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds?
It's a controversial topic, I know, but one that must be addressed. The PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds players at Eurogamer divided into two camps over the subject.
In the red corner, Team Bratterz, who believed the blue zone was gas. Chris Bratt had decent support on his side, primarily from Ian "friendly fire" Higton. But they had plenty of streamers on their side, who referred to the blue zone as gas. At one point, Bratterz even assumed the gas masks were for the blue zone, so he's got a lot invested in this debate.
In the blue corner, Team Watson, who insisted the blue zone was a force field. Paul Watson, who does a spot of social media management for Eurogamer, has a decent partner in crime in Tom Phillips. And backing them up were plenty of redditors and streamers who referred to the blue zone as a force field. Why? Because it's a fairly solid structure, it's coloured and moves. This is Paul Watson's solid logic.
The scientific logic behind both arguments was, if I'm honest, pretty weak. Wikipedia definitions would fly left, right and centre. There was some feisty fighting talk from both corners, reminiscent of a school yard brawl. In short: it was getting ugly.
We needed a verdict, so I asked Brendan 'PlayerUnknown' Greene himself for a definitive answer.
The blue zone is an electrical field, PlayerUnknown confirms. It's a sickening blow to Team Bratterz. But as Team Watson celebrated their apparent victory, the follow-up question was asked: is an electrical field a force field? There's a difference, apparently, Chris "DoubleTap" Tapsell from our guides team was left unimpressed. Unable to decide upon whether an electrical field is a force field, internet definitions came to the fore. It's a messy conclusion.
What's clear is Team Bratterz has been defeated. We now know Battlegrounds' blue zone is not gas. But is anyone a true winner in all this?
It turns out the truth has been staring us in the face this whole time. It's there on PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' Gamepedia:
"A local resistance movement fought to reclaim the island which eventually lead to the island becoming abandoned. The electrical field that you see wreaking havoc on the island is powered by electrical emitters which were used to contain towns that were showing signs of revolting against the Soviet forces."
So there you have it. It's an electric field. I don't know about you, but I feel a whole lot better.