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Am I so out of touch? No, it's the (industry) who is out of touch. Where are the gen II Battle Royale games?

Are "second wave" Battle Royale games on their way?

  • Yes, they're just going to take a bit more time. Think 2022-2024.

  • No, the Battle Royale revolution is nearing it's expiration date.


Results are only viewable after voting.

Batiman

Banned
People that are saying there dead are not paying attention to who’s still holding the majority of gamers time right now.
 

HTK

Banned
Enough with that battle royale shit. It's so fucking boring. Always hated it.

How many BR modes do you want? They are basically the same.

Let that genre die so online fps can grow again.

Uummm can't they co-exist?
 

Three

Member
2017 - Janky as **** PUBG exploded onto the scene and breaks Steam records.

2018 - Fortnite flies by PUBG to become the most successful Western console/PC game of all time.

2019 - Apex Legends single handedly saves Respawn Entertainment.

2020 - Warzone kills traditional CoD multiplayer.

During that four year stretch, the only Battle Royale to falter in the market is Ubisofts Hyper Scape. A Battle Royale designed for people who don't like Battle Royale games...shocking I know. The genre is seemingly teflon at this point with an absurd hit rate.

Now, in 2021, the industry is gearing up to release a floodgate of Battl...(record scratch)...4 player co-op games?

Back 4 Blood
Aliens Fireteam
Rainbow 6 Quarantine
Outriders
Overwatch 2
Gotham Knights
Diablo 4
Warhammer Darktide
Arrowhead Studios next PS5 game

Can anyone explain this? There was a time where I could understand the industry thinking 4 player co-op was the next big thing. Destiny was everywhere in 2015 and 2016. Does the industry just move slower than expected?

Shouldn't we be starting to see gen II Battle Royale games built from the ground up with not only next gen technology in mind, but the knowledge of what makes the genre work?

4 player co-op games seem to be more costly to make (long development cycles) and their market ceiling seems to be significantly lower than BR.

What am I missing?
All of those games are on mobile (except Apex?) . They are successful because the dev made a broad audience mobile playable game. nobody really cares about a "next gen technology" battle royale because that's not why those games are popular. We may get more battle royales but I doubt they will be pushing next gen technology.

Maybe they sat down and did some focus studies about how people got their friends to play battle royales and they're trying to move them on to playing with 4 friends in coop. Who knows.
 

Casanova

Member
I know 343 has said "the only BR we're worried about is the Battle Rifle", but I still call bullshit. The Halo sandbox is perfect for BR and I'd play the shit out of it.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
Much like all previous trends and fads I think it'll continue to slow down. Then what will be left are the big money makers. Which atm are Fortnite, Alex, and Warzone. Much like what happened with the MOBA craze.

I just think AAA is hesitant at times because they don't want to fail. I think Halo can successfully pull it off because they're a large IP. But man, I really don't know. You can only do the same thing only slightly different so many times.

But if the experience is free, people will still give it a shot regardless. It just has to be good to catch a wave.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
My take on this subject.....
XmyBpHw.gif
 
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Gentle

Banned
battle royale sucks
I agree but for some reason still love it. Sometimes it is just luck. I want to see more battle royal that gives you a chance at a rematch on some of your fights. Right now all the matches have too much luck and randomness. you get a good game here and there but they all feel like they are built to suck your attention give you just enough dopamine to be willing to play another match but just enough randomness that you constantly are taking losses that aren't really about skill.
 

Warablo

Member
I think the new fad will be like Escape From Tarkov/Hunt Showdown, small scale battle royal over loot you take back to base.
 

Gandih42

Member
My take on this subject.....
XmyBpHw.gif

I feel the exact same way. It's just not for me. That being said, the concept of a Battle Royale has always been intriguing and I think that is why it is here to stay. It's an excellent concept for games in the age of the internet.

I don't think it will necessarily become the new go-to style of game for shooters and that we'll see a new "wave" of them. All of other similar fads had their burst of popularity for a few years and then settled in to some sort of equilibrium. Examples could be CODs, MOBAs, Hero Shooters, Survival Games I suppose. All of these are still around and new ones are being made, but they have pretty much carved out their kingdoms within the gaming world in which they compete. I imagine BR is heading in the same direction, with the caveat that the reach and scale is probably unprecedented. Especially when considering play on mobile devices.

I haven't played it but Hunt: Showdown looked like a fun new take on BR. I'm not sure if it successful enough commercially, but I'd like to see the BR concept being applied to something else than just pitting 100 players against each other on a large shrinking map.

Also, what the fork are you on about OP. The next generation of Battle Royale is clearly already here


(seriously, how is this not titled "Last Stand". Jesus Christ)
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I've figured it out. I'm a genius.

Old me: The industry had to realize how special Battle Royale was in 2018, when Fortnite was everywhere and PUBG was still dominant. Games have 3 year dev cycles so... we'll see gen II Battle Royales in 2021.

New me: Publishers and developers are constantly working on projects. They can't start developing a "gen II" Battle Royale until they're done with their current game.

Gen II is coming in 2022-2024. 2021 isn't the year.
 

sainraja

Member
I'd play the fuck out of a Destiny BR mode.
lol and I was thinking how Destiny is the only game without BR mode where people can go to enjoy some traditional crucible matches and then I saw your comment! I think it would definitely be interesting if they introduced a BR mode but it should have us going up against the Hive, Fallen, Cabal at the same time. I know they plan on moving away rom the darkness vs light saga but it can serve as a lead up to the BR mode where Guardians who chose Darkness became corrupted and in the BR mode you can't trust anyone or something like this. I am sure Bungie can think of something better!
 

regawdless

Banned
There are already two behemoths, who don't leave much space for a new game. Just doing the same with a small twist isn't enough to get enough people. It needs an evolution of the genre. Which isn't on the horizon, currently.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
Despite leaks I do not think BF6 will have a BR. I think Battlefield Royal will come out in 2022 or sometime after the main game and be f2p using BF6 assets.

PUBG2 COULD be the next gen BR you are looking for but I doubt it. Brendan Greene is no longer on the project and I don't trust the developers after what they did with pubg.

Personally I don't think you are getting a BR 2.0 unless another mod or indie blows up.

My dream BR would be objective/loot based and be a cross between Tarkov and traditional BR.
Features
- Objective based: You are assaulting a base with a team to GET something and GET OUT with it (ex. virus research, or something).
- PvEvP: Both AI and players are on the map (24 player max)
- Winners (Those that extract with the mcguffin) get money to buy better gear that they can take in next raid.
- Can leave the match at any time and keep the loot by getting to extract points.
- Bring in the loot you find.
- If you die you lose everything on your character (Death is brutal like in tarkov)
- Quests on the map you can complete as you play through (Give you money and goals for people who lose teammembers early or are not able to get the McGuffin)

The way I envision it is that the "wall" sucks people into a center area at the beginning, mid game is fought there where teams attempt to do the things they need to accomplish to get access to the mcguffin, and then late game the wall pushes people back out of the area and to the extracts.

So sorta like Hunt the showdown but with modern weapons and tarkov gun porn. I am convinced it would be a popular mode.

If I had 10 million and a bigger team I would make the game above. I don't, and my team is basically 2 right now, so it will just stay an idea :(.
 
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Hopefully where they belong...the trash can. BR has ruined a lot of the gaming landscape, with every dev trying to incorporate the genre in games it does not belong in. It takes resources, and ultimately takes away from other gaming experiences.
 

Jetpac

Member
Enough with that battle royale shit. It's so fucking boring. Always hated it.

How many BR modes do you want? They are basically the same.

Let that genre die so online fps can grow again.

Not understanding the BR hate. Game's are fun to me. Oh Well.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
Not understanding the BR hate. Game's are fun to me. Oh Well.
Hate it is a very strong word. I won't say I hate the genre.

But I feel like the online fps genre is just battle royale, and because of pubg and fortnite they've ruined online shooters, because everyone wants to copy fortnite, just like everyone tried to copy wow back then because of the succes.

People who likes faster shooting gameplay are only stuck with cod now, everything is so slow where you have to run 18 miles to find an enemy which finds you through a sniper scope instead and pops your brain out.

BR is fine as it is. But do we really need 30 different games with almost the identical gameplay?

We don't need a yearly cod either, but sadly that's the formulae Activision uses, and the reason Im done with cod.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Maybe factions 2?

Factions 2 seems possible.

Apparently development rebooted sometime in 2018 to something "more ambitious" but a Naughty Dog developer made comments recently that they wanted to deliver something special to the "Factions heads" out there.

This may be PR misdirection because they see all the Battle Royale hate online, or they might be really investing in a Factions style multiplayer mode. I hope it's the former.
 

levyjl1988

Banned
Battle Royale games can only exist as a GAAS. As long as people are willing to play GAAS then it will never go away.
 

Griffon

Member
The craze is done with.

And besides, the gameplay loop is easy to get bored of: you spend like 20+ minutes hoarding shit until you die in 2 minutes battles. I'd rather skip the hoarding.
 
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Jetpac

Member
The craze is done with.

And besides, the gameplay loop is easy to get bored of: you spend like 20+ minutes hoarding shit until you die in 2 minutes battles. I'd rather skip the hoarding.

No its not, you got people spending out the wazoo on WZ/APEX/FORNITE. You want it to be done. But it's not.
 

Griffon

Member
No its not, you got people spending out the wazoo on WZ/APEX/FORNITE. You want it to be done. But it's not.
I didn't mean the games fortnite apex and co were themselves done (I think fortnite will have many years of success yet, no matter what I think of it).

What I meant by 'done' is that devs making new BR games trying to bank on it's success are pretty much done with.
Once the big boys got a solid foothold, the market is pretty much locked.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I didn't mean the games fortnite apex and co were themselves done (I think fortnite will have many years of success yet, no matter what I think of it).

What I meant by 'done' is that devs making new BR games trying to bank on it's success are pretty much done with.
Once the big boys got a solid foothold, the market is pretty much locked.

This will not age well.

I have no idea what a new MOBA looks like that would replace DOTA2 and League.

There are a million ideas that could improve the Battle Royale formula.
 

kunonabi

Member
The only battle royal game I want is a Metal Gear Solid or Last of us Based one. something with stealth basically

Yeah, I'd love to have a battle royale to be interested in but it has to be something other than a pure shooter. I had high hopes for spell break with all the magic combinations but everyone just plays it like a shooter.
 

Bridges

Member
I'm still surprised there has been no AAA Battle Royale using the Hunger Games IP.

It'd be interesting to see a BR that reincorporates the survival elements from the games BRs were initially based on. Add in a need for foraging, Day/Night cycles, base building, maybe even some way to temporarily cooperate with opponents instead of just shooting onsite, and find a more dynamic way to get players moving besides just closing them into a circle.

The concept of BR is still cool to me, but the genre feels stale because every game follows the same "drop from the sky, find a gun, shoot everyone else and stay in the circle to win" loop, there's definitely room for more variety but every company just wants to remake PUBG.
 

Griffon

Member
This will not age well.

I have no idea what a new MOBA looks like that would replace DOTA2 and League.

There are a million ideas that could improve the Battle Royale formula.
Honestly, I hope I'm proven wrong and we see some big innovation in the genre that'll get success too.
But I have a hard time believing it would happen or have enough players to survive long.
 

Sethbacca

Member
Battle Royale games are going through the same thing that MMO games went through in the early 00's. Everyone wanted to make an MMO and few of them succeeded in creating anything with longevity, and the only one with any real measurable fanbase at this point is still WoW. Over the last few years there have been a ridiculous amount of BR games launched, but very few can compete with the popularity of the juggernaut that is Fortnite (love it or hate it).
 

Holammer

Member
There are too many already established game in the BR genre and it might be in the decline.
4p co-op vs horde & survival/crafting are still popular (with growth potential) and both encourage players to bring in more customers friends. Even a low energy Survival/crafting game that isn't absolute dog shit will sell 3-4M easy.
 

Sybrix

Member
BR games get boring fast, even if you have a decent one like Warzone, Apex or Fortnite who update regularly, the gameplay becomes bland and stale, they only have these huge numbers due to player turn over, very little player numbers are made up from the players that played these games on day 1
 

ZywyPL

Banned
There's probably a lot of data that suggests the publishers that that's where the community is heading, that many people do want to play with their friends online, but at the same time don't want to get their asses destroyed over and over in any competitive mode.
 
Now, in 2021, the industry is gearing up to release a floodgate of Battl...(record scratch)...4 player co-op games?

Aliens Fireteam
Rainbow 6 Quarantine
Outriders
Gotham Knights
As somebody in a tightly knit 4 play coop group: none of these are 4 player coop. They are 3 or 2(Gotham Knights) players.
Yes, I'm kinda salty about that.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Apex revolutionized the gameplay of BR with abilities, the ping system, and revives. It was 2.0 IMO

It made some meaningful additions but will clearly be grouped with the gen 1 BR in time. Gen II will have time to study the genre and build technology from the ground up to build upon it's strengths. The tsunami is still coming. It's just a little ways off.

It is a good observation. I kind of wonder why battle royale have this impression that there are endless numbers of them, because there really are actually like four. Was a single battle royale game even shown off this E3?

Board prefers single player games. Board hates when they see a multiplayer genre boom as big as Battle Royale. Board tries to downplay the impact of said genre in the hopes that the industry will cater to their preferences.
 

BigBooper

Member
Turns out, lot's of people don't want to spent ten minutes per round scrounging. Also, I thought Warzone was that?

Oh, and I saw a new Helicopter BR game coming soon in the xbox store.
 
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CitizenZ

Banned
Not gonna lie. Seeing all 26 4 player co-op games at E3 made me think of this thread. Funny bump.

There were (gulp) 26 shown, really? This will derail, but can someone start discussion on what is perfect co op, say 3 and I know a lot of people prefer 4.
 

VN1X

Banned
2017 - Janky as **** PUBG exploded onto the scene and breaks Steam records.

2018 - Fortnite flies by PUBG to become the most successful Western console/PC game of all time.

2019 - Apex Legends single handedly saves Respawn Entertainment.

2020 - Warzone kills traditional CoD multiplayer.

During that four year stretch, the only Battle Royale to falter in the market is Ubisofts Hyper Scape. A Battle Royale designed for people who don't like Battle Royale games...shocking I know. The genre is seemingly teflon at this point with an absurd hit rate.

Now, in 2021, the industry is gearing up to release a floodgate of Battl...(record scratch)...4 player co-op games?

Back 4 Blood
Aliens Fireteam
Rainbow 6 Quarantine
Outriders
Overwatch 2
Gotham Knights
Diablo 4
Warhammer Darktide
Arrowhead Studios next PS5 game

Can anyone explain this? There was a time where I could understand the industry thinking 4 player co-op was the next big thing. Destiny was everywhere in 2015 and 2016. Does the industry just move slower than expected?

Shouldn't we be starting to see gen II Battle Royale games built from the ground up with not only next gen technology in mind, but the knowledge of what makes the genre work?

4 player co-op games seem to be more costly to make (long development cycles) and their market ceiling seems to be significantly lower than BR.

What am I missing?
Remember how the MMORPG genre is kind of reduced to just World of Warfract now? In the BR genre there's basically like 3 WoW's at the moment with Apex, CoD and Fortnite. There's a ton of other reasons why there aren't as many other competitors but just imagine trying to compete with these juggernauts. Even Battlefield tried (with a half-assed attempt to be fair) and failed.

I think it'll be a few years before we see a true new 'next-gen' battle royale that not only looks the part but is also fun to play and can compete with the big three.
 
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I just saw a trailer for a Diablo-like game where the bosses are all 80 YEAR OLD GRANDMAS! Out of touch, you think? It's what happens when you give blue-haired man haters the wheel. Have fun going under.
 
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