You want more battle royale games than PUBG, Fortnite, and H1Z1? Then be excited, as a wave of new battle royale games is coming in 2018, where you will engage in a brutal fight for survival against your fellow players. At least these games are scheduled for a release or early access in 2018.
Battle Royale games were particularly successful in 2017. In games like PUBG, H1Z1, and Fortnite: Battle Royale, you start as one of 100 or more players on a lonely island and must arm yourself with weapons and eliminate all other players. Whoever survives in the end wins.
Especially, PUBG and Fortnite: Battle Royale captivated millions of players in 2017. Battle Royale is worth it. Therefore, many developers are currently planning their own games, all wanting a piece of the big pie. What exactly is coming your way, you will find out in the following paragraphs!
Survival Games: Battle Royale – The Minecraft Massacre
- Developer: 2.0 Studios
- Release: Date for full release still unknown
- Can I play it now? Yes, early access started on April 10, 2018
- Platform: PC, Xbox One
Survival Games: Battle Royale is for you if you, as a Minecraft fan, are keen on a BR mode with blocks and edges.
What is Survival Games: Battle Royale? If you like the graphics and destructible world of Minecraft and the action from Fortnite, you should keep an eye out for Survival Games: Battle Royale. In it, you can expect randomly generated voxel graphic maps where you can slaughter each other. You should also be able to create your own maps in an editor and share them with other players.
Price: Survival Games Battle Royale has been in early access since April 2018 and can be purchased on Steam for a price of €9.99. The price will increase to €19.99 upon release.
Ratings: There are currently only 18 reviews on Steam, and they are “mixed”. About 55% of reviewers give a thumbs up. The main complaint is the lack of players. However, the concept is praised. “Once players are there, it looks like a lot of fun!”
SOS – Hunger Games Online?
- Developer: Outpost Games
- Release: Date for full release still unknown
- Can I play it now? Yes, in early access since January 2018
- Platform: PC
SOS is suitable for you if you are looking for a survival game where viewers, like in the “Hunger Games” film series, influence the game.
What is SOS? Fans of battle royale games are surely familiar with the Hunger Games books or movies. In them, teenagers must kill each other for entertainment value. It’s similar in the upcoming battle royale game SOS. Here, 16 players are part of a show and are dropped onto an island full of monsters.
The goal is to find a relic and claim one of only 3 spots in the rescue helicopter. You can and should coordinate and team up with other players while also betraying them. Additionally, viewers on Twitch will have the opportunity to intervene in the events. They can drop health packages, gear, or bombs over the battle field. Therefore, in SOS, it is also important to win over the audience and not just be an effective killer.
Price: Since January 30, 2018, SOS has been in early access and can be purchased on Steam for €14.99.
Ratings: On Steam, the ratings are “mixed”. About 63% of over 2300 votes are positive. The quirky concept of SOS is positively mentioned, often leading to amusing situations. Some reviews explain that large streamers dominate the game, and individual players have little chance.
Realm Royale – The Colorful Weapon Crafting
- Developer: Hi-Rez Studios
- Release: Date for full release still unknown
- Can I play it now? Yes, in early access
- Platform: PC
Realm Royale will appeal to you if you like the colorful comic graphics from Paladins and found the building aspect of Fortnite generally interesting, but not with bases. In Realm Royale, everything revolves around weapons.
What is Realm Royale? The colorful hero shooter Paladins also features a battle royale mode, but as a standalone game called Realm Royale. The special part is that you can choose between 5 classes to play. They all have abilities that help you in matches.
Weapons come in various rarity levels, but you have to craft legendary weapons yourself – you won’t find them easily on the map. For this, you first collect some weapons and then take them to a forge on the map, where you can use the scrapped weapons to craft a legendary one. This makes even the weapons you wouldn’t normally use interesting because they provide resources for legendaries.
You can choose between classes like Warrior, Mage, Hunter, Assassin, and Engineer.
Price: The new BR shooter Realm Royale is free-to-play and available for download on Steam.
Ratings: No ratings are available yet.
Stand Out: Battle Royale VR – PUBG in Virtual Reality
- Developer: Raptor Lab
- Release: Mid-2018
- Can I play it now? Yes, early access is already available.
- Platform: PC
You should play Stand Out Battle Royale VR if you wanted to experience your battle royale matches with a VR headset.
What is Stand Out: Battle Royale VR? A regular round in H1Z1 or PUBG can already offer nail-biting tension. The feeling in virtual reality should be even more intense. And that’s where Stand Out comes into play. The VR title is still in an early early access phase on Steam, but it offers wild fights a la PUBG in VR.
Price: Stand Out VR Battle Royale costs €22.99 in early access. However, the price will increase upon release.
Ratings: According to Steam, most users are currently satisfied with the game. More than 80% of the over 500 reviews give a thumbs up and reach the status “Very Positive.” The gameplay and the feeling of the weapons are particularly praised. But there are still many areas for improvement such as map design and player animations.
Darwin Project – No Heart for Campers
- Developer: Scavengers Studio
- Release: 2018 (a release is planned during or around summer)
- Can I play it now? Yes, early access is already running.
- Platform: PC, Xbox One
Darwin Project is the right game for you if you hate campers in battle royale games and want to take revenge on them.
What is Darwin Project? If the camping in many battle royale games annoys you, then Darwin Project might be something for you. Because here you fight for survival in icy wastelands and leave footprints in the snow and elsewhere in the game world. Hiding doesn’t help much; eventually, you will be found.
You also have to light visible fires against the cold and warm yourself regularly. Also cool: One player zooms through the game world as an operator drone and can make changes to the map. They can turn off gravity or isolate parts of the map.
Price: The Darwin Project is currently in early access and can be downloaded for free on Steam. The full version will apparently also be free to play. There are currently no plans to increase the price. On the contrary: Originally, the PC version was paid; it has been switched to free-to-play.
Ratings: On Steam, the early access of The Darwin Project is already receiving “very positive” feedback. About 84% of the more than 5000 reviews are positive. The many new elements like footprints that can be found in this battle royale game are praised. Negatively reported is the operator drone, which supposedly has too strong an influence on the game.
Dying Light: Bad Blood – PvE-Battle-Royale in a Small Circle
- Developer: Techland
- Release: 2018
- Can I play it now? Yes, the closed beta is already running.
- Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Dying Light: Bad Blood is worth it for you if you are a fan of walking dead and enjoy climbing walls in video games or in your free time! Dying Light is full of hungry zombies and parkour elements.
What is Dying Light: Bad Blood? The zombie survival game Dying Light is getting an interesting standalone offshoot in battle royale style. But instead of 100 or more players, only 6 people fight over a valuable serum in the zombie post-apocalypse.
However, the numerous zombies interfere, and in the end, there are only limited spots in the escape helicopter. You can already participate in a closed beta test for Bad Blood on PC. Bad Blood will be released as a standalone game later in 2018.
Price: You can participate in the closed beta and the global playtest for free. How much Dying Light: Bad Blood will cost upon release is unknown.
Ratings: So far, there are too few summary reviews for Bad Blood.
Fear the Wolves – PUBG meets Stalker
- Developer: Vostok Games
- Release: 2018
- Can I play it now? No, there is currently no early access available.
- Platform: PC (Xbox One, PS4?)
You will enjoy Fear the Wolves if you find the contaminated, eerie environment of Chernobyl appealing as a setting for a survival game. The day and night cycle ensures that you have to constantly adapt your strategies while encountering deadly anomalies and mutated monsters on the battlefield.
What is Fear the Wolves?Fear the Wolves appears to be a classic battle royale game like PUBG or H1Z1 at first glance. You are dropped as one of 100 players and must fight your way through. However, Fear the Wolves has some interesting twists. The setting is the atomically contaminated Chernobyl in Ukraine. And like in the shooter classic Stalker, strange things happen here.
There are said to be monsters, deadly anomalies, and other dangers that want to claim you. Additionally, there will be an alternative game mode designed to induce good scares. Viewers on Twitch can also vote on whether certain events in the game world, such as weather changes or handicaps, should occur. Fear the Wolves is set to be released in 2018 for PC and “consoles” (likely PS4 and Xbox One).
Price: At this moment, nothing is known about the price of Fear the Wolves.
Ratings: Once the early access is a few weeks old, we will summarize the ratings here for you.
Islands of Nyne: Battle Royale – The Sci-Fi PUBG
- Developer: Define Human Studios
- Release: 2018 (Early Access)
- Can I play it now? No, early access is not yet active.
- Platform: PC (later also consoles)
Islands of Nyne makes you happy if you are looking for a battle royale game in a sci-fi universe with fast gameplay.
What is Islands of Nyne? Not all battle royale games coming in 2018 are inspired by PUBG. Islands of Nyne was funded via Kickstarter before PUBG was even announced. In Islands of Nyne, you will be abducted by aliens along with 49 other players and dropped into one of three futuristic arenas.
There, you must kill one another, and the longer a round lasts, the smaller the play area becomes. Additionally, all sorts of futuristic gimmicks await you, like anti-gravity or jump pads. Do you like it competitive? Good, because Islands of Nyne offers an Elo system that ranks you according to your skill. A special highlight of Islands of Nyne is that it can only be played in first-person view.
The game is currently in alpha and is set to launch on Steam in early access during the year. A date for that has not yet been set.
Price: Pre-orders can secure packages in the Islands of Nyne shop.
Ratings: Since there is currently no early access on Steam, we cannot summarize ratings for you yet.
Pavlov VR – Virtual Reality Shooter Gets Battle Royale Mode
- Developer: Davevillz
- Release: 2018
- Can I play it now? No, an alpha phase has not yet started
- Platform: PC
The battle royale mode of Pavlov VR will be fun for you if you want to play CS:GO with a VR headset in survival mode.
What is Pavlov VR? Pavlov VR is like CS:GO in VR, which you can play on Steam in early access. The reviews are extremely positive, praising the game as a successful Counter-Strike adaptation with virtual reality. However, the developers do not want to stop there, and they plan to add a battle royale mode for 2018.
Price: It is still unknown whether the battle royale mode will appear in Pavlov or will be released as a standalone title. Pavlov VR costs €9.99 on Steam.
Ratings: Of over 1300 reviews, 87% are good, rating the game as “very positive”. In the reviews, players express how well Pavlov VR plays – practically like a Counter-Strike with a VR headset. However, the controls are criticized as being somewhat rough.
Europe / Ring of Elysium – PUBG with Underwater Battles
- Developer: Tencent
- Release: 2018 (Beta)
- Can I play it now? Yes, in a beta phase
- Platform: PC
The Ring of Elysium Beta is the right game for you if you are looking for a free alternative to PUBG that isn’t just a copy. Because with Ring of Elysium, the smooth performance and higher selection of modern firearms are praised.
What is Europe / Ring of Elysium? The Chinese software giant Tencent is planning its own battle royale shooter in the PUBG style with Ring of Elysium. Initially, the game ran here under the name “Europe.” Unlike the competition, you will be able to jump from high points with a glider, destroy the environment, as well as dive and fight underwater. Ring of Elysium will initially only be released in China. If successful, they plan to release the game globally.
A beta phase is currently running, which you can participate in with this guide.
Price: Ring of Elysium is free-to-play
Ratings: So far, Ring of Elysium can only be played through the Garena client, which is why there are no Steam ratings. However, first testers tend to believe that the game has potential to be a PUBG killer.
Mavericks Proving Grounds – 400 Players in BR Mode
- Developer: Automaton
- Release: Battle Royale Mode Beta in 2018 – MMO in 2019
- Can I play it now? No, early access has not started yet
- Platform: First PC
Mavericks Proving Grounds is worth it for you if you want large-scale battle royale with 400 players.
What is Mavericks Proving Grounds? Mavericks Proving Grounds is a battle royale shooter in first-person view. Instead of the usual 100 players in a battle royale session, Mavericks Proving Grounds quintuples that number and lets you start a session with 399 other players. An active wildlife and dynamic weather create a lively atmosphere.
There will also be social hubs where you can meet other players. A closed test phase is set to start in summer 2018.
Price: There is currently no information about the price of Mavericks Proving Grounds.
Ratings: Since there has not been early access on Steam yet, we cannot summarize ratings for you here.
Radical Heights – The Colorful 80s BR Experience
- Developer: Boss Key Productions
- Release: Release planned for 2019
- Can I play it now? Yes, in early access on Steam
- Platform: PC
You will enjoy Radical Heights if you are into a shooter in the flashy colors of the 80s. Additionally, there’s the concept of a trashy game show where you earn cash at arcade machines to buy cooler weapons.
What is Radical Heights? Radical Heights is a battle royale shooter that stands out with its colorful style from the 1980s. The game is being developed by Boss Key Productions, which is also responsible for the low gravity shooter LawBreakers. The game differentiates itself from other BR shooters with a cash feature. You collect in-game money during your rounds that you can deposit into your bank. Whether you win or lose doesn’t matter – you can take the money with you into other games.
If you saved the in-game money and took it into a new round, you can buy weapons faster – even before your opponents. But be careful: In Radical Heights, there are no pay-to-win elements. What you can buy with real money is purely cosmetic.
Price: Currently, you can play Radical Heights for free in “Extreme Early Access” on Steam.
Ratings: Over 7700 reviews on Steam give Radical Heights a summary of “mixed.” The many hackers, who are said to be frequently present in the sessions, are criticized. The game’s fresh ideas, like a game show where you can earn in-game cash, are praised.
Note: The article was originally published in January 2018. We updated it in May 2018 and added Radical Heights and Mavericks Proving Grounds.
Find more promising new releases in the MMO and online game sector here!
