Battle Royale
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Documents about Battle Royale
Is AR a Failed Consumer Category or a Successful Mobile Gaming Genre?
Augmented Reality (AR) has failed to establish itself as a broad, mass-market consumer category, despite significant investment from major technology platforms and developers.
- Augmented Reality (AR) has failed to emerge as a mass-market consumer category, as it lacks broad adoption outside of a single, isolated success story.
- Niantic’s Pokémon Go remains the only mass-market AR-centric product, having generated approximately $3 billion in lifetime revenue as of the end of 2019.
- AR functions effectively as a niche genre within the mobile gaming industry rather than a standalone consumer category, similar to how puzzle-and-decorate games function as a sub-category for companies like Playrix.
Epic Games Primer (Pt V): Fortnite & How It Built the Epic Flywheel
Fortnite serves as the central engine of the Epic Games ecosystem, functioning not merely as a video game but as a foundational social platform and a critical research and development vehicle.
- Fortnite functions as a social network rather than a traditional game, with users spending significant time 'loitering' in virtual spaces to socialize, fish, or dance rather than engaging in competitive gameplay.
- The platform has three primary modes: Battle Royale (competitive), Party Island (non-violent social space), and Creative Mode (a user-generated content engine similar to Roblox).
- Fortnite generates approximately $2 billion in annual revenue through a free-to-play model that relies exclusively on non-competitive cosmetic purchases, proving the viability of this monetization strategy at scale.
New Genre Taxonomy and Why We Need It
The mobile gaming industry faces significant challenges in market analysis due to the rapid emergence of hybrid game archetypes and the inherent fragmentation of the digital marketplace.
- GameRefinery implemented a three-layered taxonomy—Category, Genre, and Subgenre—to address the fragmentation and difficulty in categorizing modern, hybrid mobile games.
- The taxonomy enforces a 'singularity' rule where each game is assigned to exactly one Category, Genre, and Subgenre to ensure accurate market research and performance comparison.
- The system uses a hierarchical structure where Subgenres are defined by specific game mechanics and features, which then roll up into broader Genres and Categories.
2020 Predictions: Who Will Reap the Rewards as Fortnite Declines?
The mobile shooter landscape is undergoing a significant transition as the industry moves away from the peak of the Battle Royale craze toward more specialized sub-genres.
- PUBG Mobile dominated the Western Battle Royale market in 2019, capturing 30-40% of sub-genre revenue, a figure that doubles when including the Chinese version, 'Game for Peace'.
- Effective cosmetic-only economies require massive production pipelines; for example, Epic Games produces over 200 unique items per Fortnite season, including more than 80 full geometry-change outfits.
- Call of Duty: Mobile achieved the highest launch downloads of all time, but its initial revenue per player lagged behind competitors, signaling that Tencent and Activision will likely ramp up monetization strategies in 2020.
Will Midcore Mobile Games Be Squeezed Out of the Market?
The mobile gaming industry is currently experiencing a shift in market dynamics that threatens the traditional dominance of midcore titles.
- Midcore mobile games face significant market pressure from the growth of hyper-casual titles, which offer lower development barriers and instant playability, and hardcore titles, which are increasingly dominated by high-profile ports like Fortnite and PUBG.
- Fortnite mobile demonstrated massive market demand by surpassing 100 million downloads in just 138 days following its 2018 release.
- PUBG Mobile achieved top-ranking status on free app charts in 17 countries within 24 hours of its launch, signaling the strong commercial viability of hardcore titles on mobile devices.
Battle Pass is a Hot Trend in Mobile Games
The mobile gaming industry has experienced a significant shift in monetization strategies, with Battle Pass systems evolving from a niche feature in Battle Royale titles to a widespread standard across diverse genres.
- Battle Pass adoption in the US iOS top-grossing 100 games grew from a few percent at the start of 2019 to 21% by December 2019.
- The Battle Pass model has expanded beyond the Battle Royale genre into diverse categories, including Build & Battle (Clash of Clans), Match3 (Gardenscapes), and Idle games (Idle Miner Tycoon).
- Most mobile Battle Pass implementations, such as those in Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Gardenscapes, and Mario Kart Tour, utilize a $4.99 monthly price point.
PUBG Mobile: World's Highest Grossing Mobile Battle Royale Title
PUBG Mobile has established itself as the world’s highest-grossing mobile battle royale title, driven by significant year-over-year revenue growth and a successful monetization strategy in China.
- PUBG Mobile became the world's highest-grossing mobile battle royale title with $167 million in global player spending during July 2019, a 748% increase year-over-year.
- The game has generated $860 million in total lifetime revenue, surpassing competitors Fortnite ($725 million) and Knives Out ($771 million).
- Following its relaunch as 'Game For Peace' in China, the market accounted for $241 million in revenue—28% of the game's total lifetime earnings—within just 60 days.
NetEase Battle Royale Title Cyber Hunter Surpasses 5 Million Installs in First Two Weeks
NetEase’s sci-fi battle royale title, Cyber Hunter, achieved significant early momentum following its global release on April 22, 2019.
- NetEase's sci-fi battle royale title, Cyber Hunter, reached 5 million global downloads across the App Store and Google Play within its first two weeks following its April 22, 2019, launch.
- In the Japanese market, Cyber Hunter achieved 1.1 million installs during its initial 14 days, outperforming the two-week launch performance of NetEase's own hit title, Knives Out, which saw 980,000 installs in the same period.
- While Cyber Hunter has shown strong early adoption, its initial global revenue is approximately $350,000, with $154,000 generated from Japan.
2019 Predictions #9: Say Hello to the New Breed of Battle Royale Games
The Battle Royale genre underwent a period of explosive expansion throughout 2018, fundamentally altering the mobile mid-core market and compelling established publishers to overhaul their development strategies.
- Success in the Battle Royale genre requires a massive, multi-platform launch strategy, as evidenced by Apex Legends reaching 1 million concurrent players in 8 hours and 10 million players within three days.
- Traditional publishers are increasingly forced to integrate Battle Royale modes into existing franchises to maintain performance, with EA specifically citing the lack of such a mode as a factor in its lower-than-expected financial results.
- Effective monetization in the genre relies on a combination of battle passes, cosmetic-focused loot boxes, and item shops to balance profit maximization with player retention.
February Feature Updates: 2019
The February 2019 feature update provides an overview of new analytical classifications added to the GameRefinery service, specifically focusing on emerging game modes and thematic elements within the mobile gaming market.
- GameRefinery has updated its tracking service to include specific classifications for Battle Royale and MOBA modes, allowing for the identification of these mechanics even in games where they are secondary features rather than the core genre.
- The Battle Royale classification now tracks games featuring survival and last-man-standing mechanics, including both dedicated titles like PUBG Mobile and games with integrated modes like Brawl Stars' 'Showdown'.
- The MOBA classification identifies games that feature arena-based team combat with base-destruction objectives, such as the MMORPG Goddess: Primal Chaos, which incorporates MOBA-style gameplay as a secondary mode.
Battle Royale in NBA & Star Wars: 6 Exciting Ways to Implement a Battle Royale Mode
The rapid rise of the battle royale genre in 2018 demonstrated that its core mechanics—survival, shrinking play areas, and last-player-standing competition—are not limited to traditional shooters.
- Battle Royale mechanics are increasingly being adapted for non-shooter genres, proving the mode is not exclusive to FPS or TPS titles.
- Supercell’s Brawl Stars successfully integrated a 'Showdown' mode where players collect health and attack buffs from chests while a shrinking gas cloud forces engagement.
- Tencent’s Honor of Kings added a 100-player 'Breakout' mode that retains core MOBA elements, such as unique character skills and the ability to purchase gear on the fly.
The Top Mobile Game Genres of 2018: Top Grossing Charts
The analysis evaluates the mobile gaming landscape of 2018 by examining the top-grossing genres and their respective monetization effectiveness.
- The four most reliable revenue-generating genres in 2018 were Slots, Match3, Turn-based RPG, and 4X Strategy, each consistently supporting 40–60 titles in the top 500 grossing charts throughout the year.
- Slots, Battle Royale, and MMORPG sub-genres showed steady growth in their number of top-grossing chart positions throughout 2018, while 4X Strategy, Tycoon/Crafting, and Card Battlers experienced a gradual decline.
- Match3 remains the most effective genre for consistent monetization and high chart placement, despite high market competition that requires significant marketing investment and product uniqueness.