The battle royale genre is all the rage, with almost every big studio wanting to cash in on the craze. Most video game players have heard about Fortnite, Apex Legends, or Call of Duty: Warzone, which have all been extremely successful but barely scratch the surface of the genre. Some studios have added battle royale modes to popular titles in other genres, like Nuclear Winter in Fallout 76 and Red Death in Civilization 6, while more companies have tried to enter the genre with full-fledged battle royale games. It is safe to say that this craze has not died down, but it may be in need of a big shakeup.
The majority of popular battle royales go for the same type of gameplay: players board some sort of flying vehicle and are deposited around a decently sized map to search for loot while fighting other players as the boundaries shrink. This gameplay loop has proven successful, but too much of a good thing is not good. A battle royale in the style of The Hunger Games, a series that helped inspire some of the genre's earliest entries, could make waves.
The Hunger Games Play by Different Rules
In 2012, the first Hunger Games movie took the world by storm, drawing people in with its unique dystopian world and cast of characters. Gamers also took notice of this series and modded a version of The Hunger Games into Minecraft. Thus, Minecraft Survival Games was born, and a lot of players instantly fell in love with the concept. As of now, it is one of the few battle royale modes that sticks to the rules laid out in The Hunger Games, and more games should follow suit.
The Hunger Games starts every competitor around the same spot in the center of the map, and a large cornucopia of items sits in the middle of this circle. The cornucopia is filled to the brim with weapons, first aid resources, food, and various other items that the competitors need. Once the games start, they can either run into the middle to fight one another for good loot, or they can run off into the woods hoping to find something else across the map.
Throughout The Hunger Games series, arenas are usually filled with hazards to keep the competitors fighting, or to drive them in certain directions. Some competitors would also get items from the outside if they were able to get any sponsors. They would fight as usual, and those that survived the initial fighting at the cornucopia would be rewarded with more powerful weaponry. The fighting continues until there is one person left.
The Battle Royale Genre Needs a Shakeup
The battle royale genre took the concepts of last man standing victories, a mad dash for loot, and map hazards; but not much else. There have not been many battle royale games deviating from the concept of jumping out of a flying vehicle, and that should change. Not only would adopting the style of The Hunger Games help to differentiate a game from other titles, it could also help revolutionize the genre.
People who have played Minecraft Survival Games know the stress of watching a countdown slowly tick away, not knowing whether the player next to them will run to the center or turn and run. It leads to mind games in which every player must ask themselves if they are willing to take a chance at the center. Maybe it pays off, and they can get some pretty nice weapons, or maybe they will be defeated and discover that running off into the woods was a better option. It is a similar stress to not knowing where others will jump in Fortnite, but with more direct stakes.
The battle royale genre shows no signs of slowing down, but newcomers need to change up the formula. The first Hunger Games film came out in 2012, yet most games instead copy the rules set in stone by titles like Fortnite. It is a very different type of battle royale, and there is no better time to emulate it.