The genie has left its bottle.

Pandora's box has been opened.

Gaming celebrity events exist and they are never going away.

Hyperbole aside, today's reveal of the PUBG Squad showdown won't be the last time you see celebrity gamers, musicians, and all around "relevant" people come together to put on a big show.


Why is the Squad Showdown happening?

To celebrate the Unboxing Prime Day Event, of course! This special event, which receives a C+ for made-up holiday names, is a strange ode to opening up boxes and the joy of purchasing things online. 

And now, it features a gaming event. Like the Fortnite Pro-AM, the Squad Showdown marks a halfway point between esports and streamer culture. It is a "just because" streaming event that promises hype for hype's sake.

Like the Fortnite Pro-Am, it's cool factor is solidified by "real" celebrities who enjoy video games. The novelty of that reality still draws a large crowd and this isn't the first time deadmau5 has been the focal point of a gaming event.

However, It will be the first time fans will hear deadmau5's newest music. The Squad Showdown will feature new tracks from his Mau5ville Vol 1. album and this fact alone will surely bring a huge crowd of audiophiles into the stream for the experience.


An alternative to esports

Will we see the most high-level PUBG possible? Probably not.

Will we see the most entertaining PUBG event in recent history? That's a hard yes.

DrDisRespect, Anne Munition, Shroud, and the other popular streamers playing know how to make Battle Royale games fun to watch -- it is quite literally their job to do so. Big plays, big egos, and the inherent theatrics of playing online games in front of crowds have been Twitch's bread and butter for years now, so any worry that the event won't be popular is unfounded. 


However, large social events like this are, in many ways, new to the world of competitive gaming. 

Unlike Battle Royale esports, marred with campy gameplay and a litany of spectator issues,  events like the Squad Showdown might capture a feel and tone that resonate with the mass appeal of the genre. These exhibition matches feel like a natural extension of streamer culture and hopefully, everyone involved won't take themselves too seriously this July 13th.

You can watch live on www.twitch.tv/playBATTLEGROUNDS starting at 11AM PT on July 13th.