Dark Souls 3 had a PvP battle royale mode at one point
In the Dark Souls 3 alpha, a multiplayer mode existed that was literally called 'battle royale'.
This is likely not a reactionary addition designed to capitalise on the success of PUBG, because the mode only existed in the Dark Souls 3 alpha, not to mention the fact the game itself predates PUBG.
The more likely explanation is that the mode is named after the Japanese Battle Royale film.
This interesting discovery was made by Lance McDonald, an engineer and YouTuber who has a knack for going through game files to reveal what could have been.
His most recent datamining journey, documented in the video below, lead him to discover three weapons that didn't make the cut. One of which is called the Ceremony Sword Battle Royale Eclipse.
The weapon doesn't have an in-game description, but McDonald says it could be a tool for players to invade others under specific circumstances. There are no references as to the number of players this mode would have supported, or really any details about how it would have worked.
That said, McDonald suggests that Dark Souls 3 PvP arena could have evolved from this concept. Or, maybe Battle Royale in this instance refers to a different type of arena, seeing as From Software used the term before in in-game code to refer to PvP arenas.
We may never know for sure, but the thought of a PUBG-like mode in a Souls game sounds terrifying.
Thanks, PCGamesN.