COD Black Ops 4 - Battle Royal Is Evolving

Battle Royal Is Back!

At this point I can imagine that you're practically trained to groan when you see an article or Youtube video with 'Battle Royal' in the title. It was an interesting topic when PUBG popularized the game mechanics, but when Fortnite peaked in popularity it became everyone's obsession. Chances are your local news broadcast did a segment about how Fortnite is bad for your kids. And I think it was at that point we all took a collective step back from the genre. We all became the hipster that hated how popular their favorite band had become and some went as far as bashing the game and those who play it after it went mainstream.

 

With that said, the Battle Royal genre has seen a noticeable lull in news and global attention despite consistently remaining one of the top 5 games streamed on Twitch. But to Epic's credit, they've managed to keep as much interest in their game as possible through constant updates and mysterious events that keep Fortnite in the headlines. But right now, the game has relatively remained the same ever since the comet struck the map. A couple new guns have popped up, there's a golf cart, a purple cube that hates you, and that's about it. Player interest has fanned out to the next big thing, and as many big arrivals are starting to drop it looks like the Battle Royale genre is going to see some rejuvenation.

Blackout

Enter Blackout, Treyarch's entry to the popular game mode as a part of Call Of Duty Black Ops 4. The game was previously in the headlines for their controversial decision to remove the campaign from the upcoming release and focus solely on multiplayer. However, it seems like everyone can agree on one thing about the game, and that is, Blackout is fun! Many streamers have been playing the beta which has been released to those who have preorder the game on PS4, so much so that it has gone as far as passing Destiny 2: Forsaken on Twitch. All while the general consensus of those playing, simply want to jump back in after the end of every round no matter how short that round may have been.

The interest births from the fact that the game keeps everything that makes the genre so attractive while adding enough of their own features to keep things fresh and interesting. It all adds up to a whole new game, the guns are different, the upgrades are different, and the way you play can even be different with Treyarch's introduction of zombies to the game mode. And keep in mind, this is still the beta, so although the look of the game may remain, all the feedback they get gives them the chance to improve and add to what they've built before their final release

 Raising The Bar

Honestly, we thought that the bar for the Battle Royale genre would always be Fortnite, but Blackout seems to be challenging that. And with this release you can notice that the game aims to continue the evolution within the more recently created game mode. They do this by following the same formula Fortnite used, which was taking a great idea and building on it with unique design changes and additions to gameplay.

As a consumer it's great to see developers take notice of an enjoyable product and do what they can to make it theirs by adding what they believe are improvements. It's going to be interesting to see who else picks up this genre and makes it their own. Dice studios has already announced that Battlefield V will have a Battle Royale mode but we've yet to see any extended gameplay of this. And in my opinion, Battlefield V needs to make their entry to Battle Royale a reason to buy the game because after the beta I've lost interest in Battlefield V. Only time will tell, and it'll be fun to see where the genre goes by the time the next generation consoles hit store shelves.



What do you think? Are you tired of Battle Royale, or has Blackout revived your interest?