What is a Battle Royale?

Battle Royale is a game genre where a large number of players (typically 100-150) are deployed to combat against each other on a map that gradually shrinks. Depending on the title, the players may be put into teams of 2, 3, or 4. Playing solo is also an option, but having a team is normally preferred, especially for players who are beginners.

The popularity of Battle Royale is due to a number of reasons.

• Accessibility - a majority of Battle Royale games are free-to-play, making it easy to jump into the game without any commitment.
• Social - the social aspect of being able to team up with friends & family, or even just other community members is a huge contributor to Battle Royale's popularity. Considering these games are free-to-play, the barrier to entry is low and easy to get your friends/family into a game together.
• Level Playing Field - every match has players beginning on the same level - no equipment or buffs to provide anyone with an advantage from the start.
• Continuous Updates - Battle Royale games are undergoing a continuous cycle or development to keep the game interesting - varying from small tweaks to dramatic overhauls for maps, game modes, and themes.

Battle Royale games generally have the following:

• Large Player Count - whilst you won't run into everybody at once due to a large map size, this keeps the door open to large-scale battles occurring from multiple teams clashing at once. Small to medium-scale battles are more frequent, but nothing quite matches the chaos of a clash involving multiple teams.
• Map Design - as mentioned, maps are relatively large to accommodate the high number of players. Certain parts of the map will be frequented for their loot, but you or your team can choose where to "drop" upon - whether you want to dive right into the chaos or somewhere more quiet. Maps tend to change with continuous updates, so you're not constantly replaying the same map.

• Loot - everyone loves the joy of finding some good loot. Throughout a Battle Royale match, you'll encounter various loot that'll give you the advantage for securing the #1 winning spot. Loot varies from game-to-game, but one constant theme is the rarity of items. The more rare items are especially satisfying to find, and especially provide the edge for winning.
• Shrinking Play Area - at the beginning of a match, the map is fully accessible and free reign. However, over the match's duration, the map is shrunken to a specific playable area in the form of a circle. That circle will continue to shrink as the match goes on, forcing players to consolidate within the playable area or risk being eliminated. This helps force players into joining the action and scales the map area down for the lower number of players as the match continues.

• Last Man Standing - the whole objective of Battle Royale is to be the last man, or last team standing. Once you win, there's instant gratification for the trials and tribulation endured. You (and your team) will be able to celebrate being the best and only survivors out of 100+ players.

The most popular Battle Royale titles, some of which you may have heard of before stumbling upon this article, include the following:

• Fortnite
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds)
• Apex Legends

In case you want to try them out, all of these titles are available on both PCs and console platforms and free-to-play. The money aspect doesn't take effect until there are aesthetics you would like to have for your character, which vary from full skins like Darth Vader to Iron Man, or smaller accessories like backpacks or weapon trinkets. Each game has unique aesthetics available for purchase.