Currently, “Battle Royale” is arguably the most popular game mode, making games like PUBG and Fortnite really big. Should Overwatch follow this trend?
The impact of Fortnite and similar games is also being felt by major publishers. When the player count and time invested in such games increase, time spent on other games must decrease.
According to some analysts in a summary from Investors.com, it is not the games themselves that are so successful, but rather the game mode. Therefore, analysts expect major publishers (such as Activision and also Blizzard) to follow suit and simply implement these modes into their games to rekindle player interest.
What the analysts are indirectly suggesting is the assumption that Overwatch will also implement a “Battle Royale” mode to recapture players. Time and again, one hears the wishes of fans from both games that such a mode would be perfect.
However, I don’t believe that will happen.
Battle Royale does not fit Overwatch
Battle Royale requires a gigantic map that would need to exceed the size of all current Overwatch maps combined. This presents an almost impossible challenge for Blizzard and the quality standards of Overwatch. Months are spent refining individual “small” maps. If one were to create a “Battle Royale” map, either the quality would massively suffer, or Blizzard would spend nearly a year solely on the design of the map.
Furthermore, I find Battle Royale unsuitable for Overwatch. Most characters in Overwatch are designed for teamwork and have many weaknesses when played alone. This can also be beautifully demonstrated in Deathmatch, where typically the same 4-5 characters are selected who can survive best on their own.
Even if one entertains the thought and expands on the idea, many questions and possibilities remain that all sound “just mediocre” interesting. What does progress within a round look like? Do you perhaps unlock your hero’s abilities gradually? Do you “find” charges for the ultimate as loot on the map? Do the damage numbers increase? I believe it would then end in a Widowmaker sniper tournament. That would certainly be exciting, but it doesn’t require a Battle Royale.
The best case scenario would be a mode in the Arcade, in a drastically stripped-down form – but that would hardly differ from the existing Deathmatch.
One does not have to chase every trend – and I hope that Blizzard does not do so in this case.
Would you want an Overwatch “Battle Royale”? Or are you glad when this hype is finally over?
But something completely different: Have you seen the contracts of the professional players? They even have to tolerate cameras in their accommodations …
