History Main / BattleRoyaleGame

* ''VideoGame/{{Agario}}'', being the original and the oldest IoGame, had also added a shrinking circle mode in 2018, while changing little else about its iconic gameplay.

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* The novel ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' by Koushun Takami, of course, along with its film and manga adaptations. The combatants (a class of high school students selected at random; the authoritarian Japanese government started the program as an anti-[[JapaneseDelinquents delinquency]] initiative) all started out inside a single building and were let loose onto an island at various intervals, each given a survival kit and a random weapon (which included guns, swords, grenades, poison, and even [[JokeItem joke weapons]] like paper fans and dartboards); other weapons could be found on the island or taken from slain combatants. Instead of a shrinking circle, the map was divided into a grid, and at regular intervals different sections of that grid would be made off-limits in order to keep the combatants moving, with staying in them punished via detonation of the ExplosiveLeash around their necks. The time limit is three days; if anybody is still alive after that, all of the collars are detonated.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' by Creator/SuzanneCollins has a similar premise. Twenty-four children and teenagers are chosen at random by the totalitarian government of Panem to compete in a deathmatch, as punishment for a past rebellion and to flaunt its power over the colonial Districts. Like ''Battle Royale'', its popularity has also likely influenced a lot of the video games listed on this page.
** In the original novel, the combatants all start at the center of the arena, where they can either race towards the "cornucopia" (a large structure filled to the brim with weapons and survival gear) in the hopes of scoring something good, or fan out into the surrounding woods, where items are more thinly spread out but where they won't risk their lives in the massive melee that inevitably erupts at the cornucopia. Notably, there wasn't any kind of time limit or AdvancingWallOfDoom. Instead, the Gamemakers have rigged the arena full of traps, which they can set off at will whenever they decide that the game is getting boring. On that note, there's also a very strong element of AudienceParticipation; the Games are televised live across Panem, the combatants are interviewed and treated like celebrities before the match begins, and viewers can even bet on and send care packages to combatants they support.
** The second novel, ''Catching Fire'', has a unique twist on the shrinking arena in the form of its "clock" setup. The arena is divided into twelve zones arranged in a circular hub-and-spoke formation, and each of them have unique traps ([[GiantWallOfWateryDoom tsunamis]], DeadlyGas, genetically-modified killer wasps) that are activated at set times. The central hub of the arena is the only place where there aren't any traps... guaranteeing that combatants trying to escape the traps will be herded there, where they will inevitably duke it out.
* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' is a forum roleplay based on ''Battle Royale'', with many of the same rules.
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** In the original novel, there notably wasn't any kind of time limit or AdvancingWallOfDoom. Instead, the Gamemakers have rigged the arena full of traps, which they can set off at will whenever they decide that the game is getting boring. On that note, there's also a very strong element of AudienceParticipation; the Games are televised live across Panem, the combatants are interviewed and treated like celebrities before the match begins, and viewers can even bet on and send care packages to combatants they support.

* The now-defunct Bosskey Production's ''VideoGame/RadicalHeights'' was a last ditch attempt at keeping the studio alive after the commercial flop that was ''VideoGame/LawBreakers''. Radical Heights existed in early access for only about a month before the studio-- and the servers-- shut down, but the game had the unique ideas of allowing players to earn money and deposit it into a bank, allowing them to take it out of an ATM to buy weapons in future matches. Instead of an encroaching circle acting as a time limit to finish the match, the game map was split into a square grid, with certain areas of the grid being "shut off" as the match continued.

In the late 2010's, however, this concept became the [[FromClonesToGenre biggest new video game craze to hit the industry]] due to the shift it made to CompetitiveMultiplayer. Inspired by the film adaptation of the aforementioned ''Battle Royale'', it started as a mod in ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}}'', but the concept expanded into other games, and by 2017, became ''the'' dominant trend in video games thanks to the overwhelming popularity of ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds'', which itself was quickly surpassed by ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' was originally designed as a single player ZombieApocalypse survival game where you needed to build up defenses to hold off the Husks, but the developers saw the potential in a BR mode and shifted much of their team to work on that. The end result was an absolute juggernaut. Its Free-To-Play model combined with the cartoonish graphics, intuitive controls, and building mechanics quickly made it one of the most played, most streamed, and most viewed video games in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In addition to single player, the game features different modes such as forming up in team groups of 4, or setting 50 vs. 50 players.

* ''VideoGame/PlayerunknownsBattlegrounds'' became the TropeCodifier of the genre and found a sizable playerbase from the premise of the sheer amount of customization of the equipment and weapons in the game. It launched the Battle Royale genre into the limelight and made the world take notice.

* * ''VideoGame/{{Agario}}'', being the original and the oldest IoGame, had also added a shrinking circle mode in 2018, while changing little else about its iconic gameplay.

* ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds'' became the TropeCodifier of the genre and found a sizable playerbase from the premise of the sheer amount of customization of the equipment and weapons in the game. It launched the Battle Royale genre into the limelight and made the world take notice.

* ''VideoGame/RingOfElysium'' is a natural-disaster survival game about killing other survivors to reserve your seat on the only (4-man) rescue helicopter in the area; it was initially developed as ''Creator/{{Tencent}}'s'' alternative to [=PUBG=], but soon gained its own identity.

* Players start in either a random location or usually fall into the map from the sky to land in the place they want to be.
* Players have to find equipment to keep themselves alive.

* ''VideoGame/CounterStrike'' GlobalOffensive added a Battle Royale mode by the end of 2018 called the "Danger Zone". In "Danger Zone", one can request weapon delivery based on the accumulated money, and in team of two, can respawn as long as the other team member alive.

* ''VideoGame/CuisineRoyale'' is a [=3D=] battle royale conducted entirely with modern kitchen implements that was originally designed as an April Fool's joke around the FryingPanOfDoom controversy in ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds'' and ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' [[note]][=PUBG=] studio Bluehole at one point aimed to sue Epic Games for copyright infringement and claimed that Fortnite's usage of frying pans constituted an example, before eventually withdrawing their lawsuit after widespread mockery.[[/note]]. It became a full-blown free-to-play game after the initial positive reception.

* ''VideoGame/CounterStrikeGlobalOffensive'' added a Battle Royale mode by the end of 2018.

* Players start in either a random location or fall into the map from the sky to land in the place they want to be.

* Players start in either a random location or usually fall into the map from the sky to land in the place they want to be.

A similar variation is the Last Man Standing or Last Team Standing mode. Players generally have have a limited number of lives rather than a time limit, and players usually start with a predetermined selection of equipment to use. Once you're out of lives, you're limited to just spectating for the rest of the match.

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In the late 2010's, however, this concept became the [[FromClonesToGenre biggest new video game craze to hit the industry]] due to the shift it made to CompetitiveMultiplayer. It started as a mod in ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}}'', but the concept expanded into other games, and by 2017, became ''the'' dominant trend in video games thanks to the overwhelming popularity of ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds'', which itself was quickly surpassed by ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''.

* ''VideoGame/RingOfElysium'' is a winter-themed [=BR=] game that was initially developed as ''Creator/{{Tencent}}'s'' alternative to [=PUBG=], but soon gained its own identity.

In the late 2010's, however, this concept became the [[FromClonesToGenre biggest new video game craze to hit the industry]] due to the shift it made to CompetitiveMultiplayer. It started as a ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' server inspired by the [[Film/TheHungerGames film adaptation]] of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', and then a mod in ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}}'', but the concept expanded into other games, and by 2017, became ''the'' dominant trend in video games thanks to the overwhelming popularity of ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds'', which itself was quickly surpassed by ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''. Together, these two games amount to the TropeCodifier, but many other takes on the genre exist as well.

* ''VideoGame/RealmRoyale'' is a fantasy-themed [=3D=] take on the genre, where players ride horses instead of motorcycles and fight with enchanted weapons.

* ''[=SOS=]'' was a short-lived game that relied on the spectating audience's participation to decide which players should receive air drops with boons, or get hindered instead.

are usually considered the first known examples of this genre. ''VideoGame/DayZ'' is also considered an early precursor, especially once it began receiving mods focused on the player-vs-player combat. In 2016, a mobile game adaptation of ''Manga/{{Btooom}}'', ''VideoGame/BtooomOnline'', was the first commercial game fully utilizing the battle royale principles, since its own source material was inspired by the ''Battle Royale'' novel. However, it failed to get traction even inside Japan.

Thus, 2017 ''VideoGame/PlayerunknownsBattlegrounds'' is the TropeCodifier. Its unquestionable success on [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]], to the point of becoming the #1 most played game on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, had inspired a number of competitors, sometimes referred to as "[[FromClonesToGenre [=PUBG=] clones]]". The most well-known of these is Creator/EpicGames' ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'', which became the #1 most played game in the world after it added its own Battle Royale mode. The combined success of ''[=PUBG=]'' and ''Fortnite'' had in turn inspired further developers to either attempt their own spin on the genre, or to incorporate this mode alongside the others into their existing game.

* ''VideoGame/BattleRoyaleio''
* ''VideoGame/CuisineRoyale''
* ''VideoGame/DarwinProject''
* ''VideoGame/DyingLightBadBlood''
* ''VideoGame/FearTheWolves''
* ''VideoGame/FracturedLands''
* ''VideoGame/{{Foesio}}''
* ''VideoGame/IslandsOfNyne''
* ''VideoGame/{{Thelastio}}''
* ''VideoGame/LastTide''
* ''VideoGame/PlayerunknownsBattlegrounds''
* ''VideoGame/RadicalHeights''
* ''VideoGame/RealmRoyale''
* ''VideoGame/RingOfElysium''
* ''VideoGame/RulesOfSurvival''
* ''VideoGame/{{SOS}}''
* ''VideoGame/{{Spellbreak}}''
* ''VideoGame/{{Survivio}}''
* ''VideoGame/TotallyAccurateBattlegrounds''
* ''VideoGame/ZombsRoyaleio''

!! Games which have a battle royale mode in addition to the "main" game:
* ''VideoGame/{{Agario}}''
* ''VideoGame/BattlefieldV'' (Firestorm mode)
* ''VideoGame/CounterStrikeGlobalOffensive''
* ''VideoGame/{{Devastio}}''
* ''VideoGame/H1Z1'' (King of the Hill mode, later renamed to ''[=Z1=] Battle Royale)
* ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' (self-explanatory Battle Royale mode; the most successful example of the genre so far)
* ''VideoGame/{{Starveio}}''

A Battle Royale is defined as numerous characters fighting each other [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne until only one remains victorious]]. The concept is as old as time and has been depicted in various media through the years, but in the late 2010's, it became the [[FromClonesToGenre biggest new video game craze to hit the industry]] due to the shift it made to CompetitiveMultiplayer. With what started as a mod in ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}}'', the concept expanded into other games, and by 2017, became ''the'' dominant trend in video games thanks to the overwhelming popularity of ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds'', which itself was quickly surpassed by ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''.

* ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds'' became the TropeCodifier of the genre and found a sizable playerbase from the premise of the sheer amount of customization of the equipment and weapons in the game. It launched the Battle Royale genre into the limelight and made the world take notice.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' was originally designed as a single player ZombieApocalypse survival game where you needed to build up defenses to hold off the Husks, but the developers saw the potential in a BR mode and shifted much of their team to work on that. The end result was an absolute juggernaut. Its Free-To-Play model combined with the cartoonish graphics, intuitive controls, and building mechanics quickly made it one of the most played, most streamed, and most viewed video games in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In addition to single player, the game features different modes such as forming up in team groups of 4, or setting 50 vs. 50 players.
* The now-defunct Bosskey Production's ''Radical Heights'' was a last ditch attempt at keeping the studio alive after the commercial flop that was ''VideoGame/LawBreakers''. Radical Heights existed in early access for only about a month before the studio-- and the servers-- shut down, but the game had the unique ideas of allowing players to earn money and deposit it into a bank, allowing them to take it out of an ATM to buy weapons in future matches. Instead of an encroaching circle acting as a time limit to finish the match, the game map was split into a square grid, with certain areas of the grid being "shut off" as the match continued.
* ''VideoGame/Fallout76'' announced the "Nuclear Winter" expansion at E3 2019, which adds a Battle Royale mode. Vault 51 was designed to not have an Overseer looking after its residents. It has the unique social experiment that if anyone wants to become the Overseer, they need to be the last one alive to rightfully claim it. Players need to scavenge for armor, weapons, and supplies while dealing with both other players and the [[NuclearNasty irradiated wildlife]] of Appalachia before being engulfed in a ring of fire.
* ''The Culling'' entered Steam's Early Access program in 2016, well before the release of TropeCodifier ''[=PUBG=]'' and was differentiated from the games that would follow it by a DeadlyGame Show theme and a focus on melee combat and traps. The 2018 sequel ''The Culling 2'' became a notorious ShortRunner after it failed to find an audience. It released on July 10, 2018, and was shut down not even 2 weeks later. Servers for the original game were shut down in May of 2019.
* ''VideoGame/ApexLegends'' is set in the VideoGame/{{Titanfall}} universe bringing elements of the HeroShooter with 60 players divided into squads of three characters known as Legends, each of which have unique abilities. Players also have access to LeParkour abilities, although they are scaled back from the ''Titanfall'' games for reasons of balance.
* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'', an ActionRPG primarily played as PlayerVersusEnvironment retooled itself into this genre as a 2017 AprilFoolsDay joke, becoming ''Path of Exile: Royale'' temporarily. Winners were awarded "Rhoa dinners"[[note]]Rhoa are aggressive birds based on the RealLife [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moa Moa]] native to Grinding Gear Games home of New Zealand[[/note]] as trophies to display in their customizable HomeBase.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Tetris}} Tetris 99]]'' pits 99 players against each other. Clearing lines and racking up combos will send junk lines to a random player. The game tells you who you're sending junk to, and who's sending it your way. Sometimes the RandomNumberGod will just say "screw you" and have multiple enemies send junk your way.

* In ''VideoGame/ZombsRoyaleio'', about a hundred players jump off a plane and fight for survival while a ring of poisonous gas restricts the playing area.
* ''VideoGame/BattleRoyaleio'' takes place on a space station on Jupiter's moon Io. Players open crates to gather weapons to battle each other.
* ''VideoGame/WarBrokers'' has a Battle Royale mode where up to sixty players drop on a map and collect weapons, armor, and attachments. Players fight each other with a mixture of gunfights and LeParkour.

* ''Darwin Project'' features unique take on the genre in which ten players armed with a melee weapon and a bow have to craft arrows to battle one another while also [[SurvivalSandbox crafting fires and seeking out shelter to survive the snowy environment.]] Complicating things is the Show Director, another player serving as a sort of GameMaster, able to influence the match by [[TheGMIsACheatingBastard sharing information to players, spawning items and powerups]], and control which zones of the map are disabled to force players into conflict, all with the aim of making the match as interesting for themselves and the participants as possible.
* ''VideoGame/BattlefieldV'' has "Firestorm". Players must find UsefulNotes/WorldWarII-era weapons and equipment to survive before they're engulfed in the encroaching firestorm. Aside from the [=WW2=] setting, Battlefield in general allows for fully destructible buildings and plenty of vehicles such as tanks to give you the advantage.

* ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament4'' has the Showdown mode, where two teams pick their spawn points and start with the usual Impact Hammer+Enforcer loadout. Items spawn in maps in their usual locations, and once they're picked, they disappear until the next round. "Team Showdown" is the team-based equivalent.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'' series has often featured a robust multiplayer mode in which up to four players place bombs and collect level-ups to defeat the other players. Later installments would up the ante by allowing 8, sometimes 16 players to nuke and duke it out all at once. Most modern games feature a second chance to ruin the surviving players by letting defeated players toss bombs into the arena from the outside walls.
* ''Videogame/GetAmped'': The "Deathmatch" game mode has up to 8 players playing in a stage, trying to beat each other until there's the last man standing.
* ''Videogame/KirbyBattleRoyale'': The "Battle Arena" game mode has up to 4 players in a free-for-all fight, where the last man standing wins. The twist here is that characters can revive themselves to half health if given enough time; the battle is only won when all but one combatants are down at around the same time.

A Battle Royale is defined as numerous characters fighting each other until only one remains victorious. The concept is as old as time and has been depicted in various media through the years, but in the late 2010's, it became the [[FromClonesToGenre biggest new video game craze to hit the industry]] due to the shift it made to CompetitiveMultiplayer. With what started as a mod in ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}}'', the concept expanded into other games, and by 2017, became ''the'' dominant trend in video games thanks to the overwhelming popularity of ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds'', which itself was quickly surpassed by ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''.

* ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}} 3'''s community ended up modding in the [[UrExample first known example]] of the Battle Royale in video games. Players had to find their equipment, but had to deal with an encroaching circle of radioactive fog.

This is the video game equivalent and subtrope of DeadlyGame (where the victor is the last one ''alive.'') Compare with MeleeATrois (in which three or more factions or individuals are locked in a battle with no predetermined alliances) Related to SurvivalSandbox.

This is the video game equivalent and subtrope of DeadlyGame (where the victor is the last one ''alive.'') Compare with MeleeATrois (three or more factions want to kill each other.) Related to SurvivalSandbox.

* Many ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' servers have a fan-made game mode known as the "[[Literature/TheHungerGames Hunger Games]]" in which players spawn in an arena and have to gather weapons and other resources, all while fighting other players to be the last man standing. At the center of each map is a cornucopia filled with all sorts of goodies and equipment, and some servers even allow for the use of starting kits.

A Battle Royale is defined as numerous characters fighting each other until only one remains victorious. The concept is as old as time and has been depicted in various media through the years, but in the late 2010's, it became the [[FromClonesToGenre biggest new video game craze to hit the industry]] due to the shift it made to CompetitiveMultiplayer. With what started as a mod in ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}} 3'', the concept expanded into other games, and by 2017, became ''the'' dominant trend in video games thanks to the overwhelming popularity of ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds'', which itself was quickly surpassed by ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4'' features the "Blackout" mode. In what is easily the largest map in all of COD history, players find themselves traveling through familari locations like Nuketown and Verruckt. On top of finding weapons and armor to defend themselves, players have access to numerous military vehicles like helicopters. Some areas even feature zombies that can drop equipment when killed.

* ''VideoGame/WarBrokers'' has a Battle Royale mode where up to sixty players drop on a map and collect weapons, armor, and attachments. Players fight each other with a mixture gunfights and LeParkour.

* ''VideoGame/CrashBash'': the Crate Crush, Polar Push, Ballistix and Tank Wars category of minigames are all about free-for-all match where you have to take down other opponents and be the last man standing. In Crate Crush and Tank Wars, you deplete opponent's HP; in Polar Push, you push your opponents out of the ring; and in Ballistix, you deplete opponents' points by knocking balls towards their goal.

* ''VideoGame/BattlefieldV'' has "Firestorm". Players must find UsefulNotes/WorldWarII-era weapons and equipment to survive before they're engulfed in the encroaching firestorm. Aside from the WW2 setting, Battlefield in general allows for fully destructible buildings and plenty of vehicles such as tanks to give you the advantage.

* ''VideoGame/{{Survivio}}'' is another IoGame Battle Royale. About 80 players instantly spawn on a randomly-generated island (no waiting room or skydiving), search for items, and fight until only one remains.