2022 is a period where the market esports in the world witnessed the arrival of various titles games Battle Royale. Fortnite Battle Royale, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Rules of Survival and many others are some game titles that have entered the category that is in great demand on the portal. game publisherlike Steam.
In addition to Steam, these titles also appear in the category top grossing games in publisher platform app mobile such as Google Play Store and iOS App Store. The popularity of this genre doesn’t stop there.
This genre has also successfully penetrated the market stream, such as YouTube and Twitch. According to data collected by Newzoo in 2022, Fortnite and PUBG accounted for 12.8% and 8.8% of total views on YouTube and Twitch, respectively.
Before we discuss further, do you know what the battle royale genre is like? Listen, bro!
What’s that Battle Royale Games?
Familiar with the concept last man standing? Have you ever watched The Hunger Games? Basically, this is just a game concept where a group of players are gathered in a fairly limited area and force the players to eliminate each other until leaving a winner.
This genre also has various elements of fun such as survival, terrain exploration and also traveling around looking for weapons or other supporting equipment. Basically, the game will start by placing the players at different points at random. In addition to players, distribution items or weapons also done randomly, so there is no element of certainty to start with a favorite weapon.
To ensure that the game can end and produce a winner, the game is equipped with a time limit which is usually manifested in the form of a zone narrowing so that players inevitably have to face other players.
This mode can be found as the main mode in a gamesbut sometimes also comes as a complementary feature of the existing play mode.
How far has it progressed so far?
Starting from the Japanese film in the early 21st century entitled Battle Royal, the genre inspired by the film has now dominated the space video games. PUBG which experienced immediate success at the beginning of its launch, as well as Fortnite which also added a mode battle royale In terms of playing options, both have managed to become the object of research and also chat in various mass media.
Fortnite, which offers the opportunity to play this genre for free, has rivaled the premium-packaged PUBG. It doesn’t just end there, according to the statistics of the data collected by Let’s Play IndexFortnite is now in first place for the number of content gaming the most on YouTube, with statistics of 5,841 videos and 215,677,955 views.
Fortnite’s prestige also comes from the more friendly feel of the game, especially in the presentation of graphics that do not show elements of violence that are so real, so that they can be consumed by the general public.
Meanwhile, PUBG is in position 3 with a total of 2,104 videos and a total of 2,104 videos views as many as 18,324,028. Both of them have beaten the game record esports popular ones, such as Dota 2 and Counter Strike, which ranked 5th and 8th, respectively.
In addition to YouTube, the success of Fortnite also dominates platform Twitch, where streamer Drake and Ninja managed to break the record on March 15th for the number of concurrent viewers as much as 2.5 million.
Why is this genre so boom?
Genre battle royale has funny elements from its randomization mechanism to positioning as well as the availability of resources to support the player’s struggles. This genre is quite entertaining, especially to laugh at the players who start the game with conditions that are quite apprehensive.
Apart from being entertaining, this genre also has an appeal for its inclusivity. Unlike games Dota or CS:GO which requires players to have a high level of ability to be able to win games, genres battle royale clearly classified as more casual. Many other variables beyond the ability of the player that can lead the player to victory, such as item drops and starting point which random. Luck is a real thing in this genre.
Besides luck, battle royale offers a different gaming experience for each category of player ability. There are many ways that can be used to achieve the title last man standing adapted to style played. You don’t have to be aggressive to win the game. Sometimes, just hiding can also lead the players to victory.
How is the future battle royale?
Based on research conducted by Newzoo, Fortnite and PUBG have different market segments. PUBG has significant popularity in Asia than Fortnite which is more dominant in the west. Even though PUBG is a video games developed by a western company, the Chinese company Tencent welcomed the opportunity of PUBG’s presence by immediately forming a partnership relationship until the birth of PUBG for mobile platforms.
Compete with PUBG Mobile, Fortnite is also preparing a version mobile-his. As of March 2022, PUBG Mobile has recorded as many as 22.3 million download and 4.5 million active players every day. Meanwhile, the iOS version of Fortnite, which is still under development, has also reached 6.5 million download and 1 million active players every day.
Fortnite is making a revolution cross playwhere each player will be connected in a world regardless of platform that they use, so that players mobile can play together with PC players.
The competition between Fortnite and PUBG which has now penetrated into the game mobile platformswill enliven the title battle royale that already exists. With PUBG innovating by having 2 versions mobile and Fortnite with its revolution, genre battle royale still hasn’t reached its climax. The competition is getting tougher for the publisher will continue to drive innovation.
PUBG which has now beaten the popularity games League of Legends, as well as the public’s enthusiasm for welcoming this trend, it will not be surprising if in the near future we will see the arrival of various tournaments esports themed battle royale.
(Data sources: Steam, Newzoo, Let’s Play Index)
