The battle royale genre has blown up over the last year but will the success train come to a halt?

Some still think this is just a fad, but the numbers don’t lie. The player counts across “the big four” are insane and yes I am including Apex Legends into this mix because this game has taken us all by storm with the staggering player numbers within its first week release.  The following four titles are leading the pack.

PUGB

Fortnite

Call Of Duty: Blackout

Apex Legends

What makes a battle royale game so exciting, so great that millions and millions of gamers just can’t stop playing them? I for one enjoy the sheer thrill of a one life, no respawn scenario. What battle royale games do well is bring a different element to ever match played. Logging my most hours in a battle royale game leans heavily towards PUBG I had never been faced with the same scenario in a match. Battle Royale matches have a different outcome ever game. Make a small mistake by going left instead of right towards the safe zone, BOOM! you’re dead, forgot to pick up the extra ammo thinking you won’t need it, BOOM you’re dead. There are so many variations in BR match that has players coming back for more and more. Nothing is more heart pumping then being down the final few players in a solo match, your hands gripping the controller waiting for any movement in the bushes near by to take your shot. Its moments like this that keep gamers glued to this genre and with more and more developers jumping in when will this actually die out… or will it be here to stay.

With more and more developers jumping into this genre it’s as if we almost expect any new release shooter having a battle royale mode. Call of Duty recently added BR with Blackout and BF5 will soon have its BR come this march. Standalone titles like Fortnite and Apex Legends have taken us all by surprise and the pioneer title of PUBG seems to have lost its flare. Although I still enjoy PUBG very much a lot of fans have seemed to have dropped off and moved in to titles like COD Blackout and Fortnite.

Apex Legends is the latest BR game to hit the market and it has hit us in a big way. The player count for Apex is in the millions and doesn’t seem to being slowly down. The game is great don’t get me wrong but do you think it would be doing so well if it wasn’t free? I personally don’t think so and I don’t think Fortnite would be where it is today if it wasn’t free either. Now, offering a free game is great marketing solely based on the fact that people will spend money on skins and loot boxes. That is just the way gamers are today. Pay to win and pay for skins. Not my cup of tea to be honest, just let me grind it out and earn my rewards. Developers know this is how gaming is today and why wouldn’t you offer up something for free knowing that eventually the masses will flock and and purchases loot crates and skins and season pass offerings. It only makes sense from a business stand point and trust me I would do the exact same thing. Fortnite has paved the way for this model and Apex Legends has followed in its footsteps. So who’s next is the real question now?

Overall this genre is great and I do really enjoy playing the various titles that offer the experience. I personally think BR will eventually fade out but it won’t be until we see our next generation of consoles. So buckle up and enjoy the ride with BR because more and more developers are adding or creating standalone BR modes and now we must wait and see who is next in line for a BR mode.

If there is one game I would like to see a BR mode in would be Gears of War! let me know what existing game needs a BR mode.

Cheers folks!