Player Unknown's Battlegrounds is arguably one of the most important games to release in the past decade. If H1Z1 built the foundation of the battle royale genre, PUBG certainly shaped it into the form that remains hugely successful today. We would not have seen the battle royale craze of the late 2010s without it, and millions of people around the world wouldn't know the brutal arena thrills of red loot crates, welding helmets, and the clang of steel frying pans.

Fortnite might have stolen the battle royale crown, but PUBG's name still means something even today. So when publisher Krafton announced a brand-new PUBG was in the works last month, it was an immediately exciting prospect for battle royale fans. And doubtless a daunting one for its development team, given the large shoes Ded.Net has to fill.

But what does it mean to make a new PUBG in the shadow of the original? How do you make something familiar, while keeping it fresh enough that it doesn't feel redundant? The answer may lie in Ded.Net; a grungy splatterfest being developed by Krafton's Wisconsin studio, PUBG Madison, that gives those battle royale fundamentals a more rogue-like spin. To find out more, I spoke with creative director Dave Curd about the challenges and opportunities facing the team.

"I was charged with spreading the gospel of PUBG to an audience that might not already appreciate it or like it or understand it," Curd told me at Gamescom. And that required breaking it down to its fundamentals. "What is PUBG? Is it a blue Zone? Is it the level three helmet? I think [it's] desperate survival. I think it's survival of the fittest, it's dog eat dog."

But Curd had an inkling those same themes could work equally well in a different kind of game. Which is where PUBG Ded.Net comes in. Foundationally, Dead.Net is a third-person battle royale shooter much like its predecessor. You're dropped into a map where an ever-shrinking circle forces players to fight over spoils in order to secure victory. Here, your character is a contestant in an uber violent gameshow of sorts, sending up to the pulpy action and violent media of the 90s. But Ded.Net's big twist comes in the way it draws from pick-three-style roguelites - a popular style of roguelite in which players choose their upgrades from a selection of three options - as it plays out across multiple consecutive matches.

After finishing a match, many of the power-ups and character-altering abilities you've selected can have a positive or negative impact on subsequent games. So if you, say, chop off your arms and replace them with giant blades in one match, you may have an available power-up that leans further towards melee attacks in the next one, but you could also be assigned injuries you need to work around: you might fail to reload on occasion, for instance, or find it harder to swim. Keep pushing forward into more challenging matches and you'll earn additional rewards as the risks pile up, but cashing out might prove wiser.

For Curd, the idea of introducing enticing twists for consecutive games tackles the frustration factor present in many battle royales. "You never want to go out on a loss," he explains, "but after two or three losses, you're like, all right boys, it's time to go to bed. In Ded.Net, you can still get wrecked but then, in the out-of-game, it's like 'oh my God the akimbo ability came up. I can finally dual-wield those shotguns, maybe I can play one more match'.

"That's been the theory, that chasing your fantasy of fun takes the edge off losing," he continues. "If you're trying PUBG today, you're going up against guys with potentially five to six thousand hours of play. Starting this new journey with fans together, where unfairness is baked into the experience purposefully, I don't think those wins and losses are as crushing."

However, Ded.Net isn't just an attempt to address PUBG's weaknesses; the goal is to capture its strengths too. Curd highlights PUBG's ability to organically create keystone moments - where gameplay elements coalesce into thrilling climaxes that stay in the mind long after you turn your computer off. A battle royale where you tussle for victory is one thing, but winning a match when you're a mess of upgrades and injuries is another.

Curd is keen to stress that Ded.Net isn't going as granular as other roguelites - and incremental upgrades that add five points to firing speed or stamina recharge are not welcome here. "I don't want players doing nerd shit," he says. "I don't want our players doing math. I don't want the mental load of trying to figure out how many stacks of aim-down-sight speed is optimal [...] There's never a case where my bullets hit twice as hard as your bullets. Our powers are very purposefully strategic gameplay opportunities." And a lot of them are also surprisingly out-there for a battle royale with the PUBG name on it.

Ded.Net has pulpy, grungy ultra-violence at its heart - those aforementioned sword arms, for instance, are gained by slamming your limbs into a messed-up pinball machine, and stop you from shooting guns for the rest of the match. You can also turn into a porcelain Chucky-esque living doll who jumps on allies' backs to hitch a ride. It can also hop onto enemies, occasionally giggling to warn them a tiny horror is crawling over them. And when you decide to leap in for the kill as the doll, it steals items from the player you're attacking.

According to Curd, the team has gone to great lengths to ensure these wackier gameplay elements feel meaningful rather than gimmicky. Multiple players can be a creepy doll in the same match, thanks to the inclusion of several doll-on-body attachment points. If an ally and an enemy doll is on you at the same time, there's apparently a bespoke doll fighting system.

It might sound silly, but that's sort of the point. "We're in the entertainment business," says Curd. "If you're not smiling, I'm f****** up. The whole development process when we're considering what to put in the game has been: does it make us laugh? Is it an intriguing fantasy? Do we think about it the next day? If the answers are all yes, we usually try it out."

Likewise, it's possible to hack certain objects in the game, causing all manner of mischief. A truck can be hacked to explode after a set amount of time, for instance. And speaking of trucks, Ded.Net has a dedicated seatbelt system, meaning you'll be flung through the window if you crash a car at speed without your seatbelt on. Safe drive, stay alive, kids. Ded.Net isn't the first game to do a Running-Man-style murdershow, but in a genre seemingly saturated with military simulations and family friendly cartoonishness, it's a refreshing spin on things. Does Curd think battle royales are getting stale? "It's mature," he replies. "The big boys have found their lane. But that's an opportunity. It's evolve or die out here, and I'd like to keep pushing it."

The desire is laudable, but given the prestige of the brand, I wonder if the Ded.Net team is also feeling a lot of pressure. "Pressure is a privilege," Curd says. "I'm incredibly fortunate to be in the position to be trusted with taking a swing with a very precious IP. And I think if you fixate on that, you will second-guess yourself and you will tie yourself in knots. My executive producer has been nothing but supportive; we've had a great working relationship. He told me, 'Don't worry about the numbers. Worry about pleasing the fans, worry about making something memorable.' He's interested in big swings. So I feel very supported.

"We have always developed responsibly, we believe lean teams innovate. So we're not this big huge monster that has to work or everybody is in trouble and everybody's in danger. We've thoughtfully - with the fans - incrementally been building something we think people will love."

This interview is based on a preview at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. Krafton provided flights and accommodation.