Highlights

• The Battle Royale market is oversaturated, but developers are innovating to keep gameplay interesting.
• Mainstays like PUBG and Fortnite remain popular while other games in the genre struggle for attention.
• Games like H1Z1, Warface, and Battlefield 5 tried but couldn't maintain success in the competitive market.

The Battle Royale genre appeared in the blink of an eye, and after the record-breaking success of games such as Fortnite and PUBG, it became the next big thing. In the late 2010s and early 2020s, there was seemingly a new Battle Royale game every month. Each new iteration was looking for a slice of the pie, so to speak.

While many Battle Royale games had some degree of success, the genre as a whole has fallen off a bit now. Mainstays such as PUBG, Warzone, Apex Legends and, of course, Fortnite, are still extremely popular. Unfortunately, most other games in the genre, even some of the more popular and innovative ones, have failed to have a lasting impact. Here are some popular Battle Royale games that were fairly successful during the genre's peak that players and developers alike have now moved on from.

6 H1Z1 Battle Royale

One Of The Trailblazers In The Genre

H1Z1's Battle Royale mode was the first popular Battle Royale game made. It predated trailblazers such as PUBG and Fortnite by a couple of years. The game was solid, but unpolished, and was extremely popular during the genre's ascendancy. However, H1Z1's Battle Royale mode failed to meet fan expectations, and it seemed to be constantly plagued by one issue or another.

While the game was still successful, it did fall off as the market got more and more oversaturated. Unfortunately, its main competitors were much more polished, had more frequent updates, and feature different unique selling points that overshadowed this mainstay of the Battle Royale genre.

5 Warface

Solid And Accessible But A Bit Too Vanilla

Warface was a fun free to play FPS game which took a fair bit of inspiration from the Call of Duty franchise. Overall, it was a fun, low-effort game that was easily accessible for everyone. Warface even had some solid gunplay, and some semblance of customization, and a class system.

As the Battle Royale fever took over the gaming world, Warface introduced its own Battle Royale mode. While it did have some initial buzz, and a decent player base from its other game modes that carried over, its popularity slowly fizzed out. While Warface was a fun free-to-play FPS game, its Battle Royale mode just didn't offer anything different enough to make it worth playing over the dozens of alternatives available.

4 Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout

A Decent Precursor To Warzone

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was a highly-anticipated release. The franchise had hit a bit of a lull, and Treyarch's Black Ops series is widely seen as the pinnacle of the Call of Duty franchise. This game brought in a ton of changes, the highlight being the new Blackout mode; Call of Duty's first Battle Royale mode.

Blackout was a solid Battle Royale that filled in the slow, tactical shooter niche in the Battle Royale genre. Moreover, it featured PvE enemy zombies as well as franchise-specific weapons which were fun to play around with. Blackout was a decent game mode, not quite as good as Apex Legends and the like, but pretty close. However, with the short shelf life of Call of Duty games, and the imminent release of Warzone, this game was destined to fizzle out. Essentially acting as the practice run for Warzone, it did its job well.

3 Battlefield 5 Firestorm

Couldn't Quite Gather Any Momentum

Battlefield 5 was a highly-anticipated game, especially considering what a massive success its predecessor was. Battlefield 1 had amazing multiplayer modes, and one of the best single-player experiences in FPS gaming at the time. Sadly, Battlefield 5, while delivering in some aspects, had a Battle Royale mode that quickly fell off.

It featured a Battle Royale mode called Firestorm that was launched post-Battlefield 5 release hype, and right at the peak of the Battle Royale genre. At the time, it faced a ton of competition which it couldn't live up to. While Firestorm had a cool map, some solid Battlefield guns, and was one of the first games in the genre with a variety of vehicles, it was locked behind a paywall in a mostly free-to-play genre. Moreover, the mode felt like an attempt to capture the Battle Royale hype, and didn't get the level of support that Fortnite and Apex Legends did.

2 Rumbleverse

A Fun Idea That Couldn't Make It Stick

Rumbleverse was released in 2022, well past the peak of the Battle Royale genre as a whole. In that regard, and considering it wasn't a huge name in the industry, its success was somewhat surprising. Rumbleverse was a brawler, as well as a Battle Royale, one of the select few focused on melee combat rather than shooting.

While the game had a steep learning curve, it was worth it. Rumbleverse had colorful and vibrant visuals, and a variety of different features, such as melee weapons, potions, and different traversal options. The game was well-reviewed and enjoyed some success. However, it never quite took off and faced steep competition from MultiVersus, more due to their similar names than anything else. This game had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, it failed to capitalize on it and died pretty quickly.

1 Realm Royale

One Of The Stand-Outs In The Genre

• Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC
• Release Date: June 5, 2019
• Developers: Hi Rez Studios, Heroic Leap Games
• Genre: Battle Royale

Realm Royale was one of the more successful and popular games in the Battle Royale genre. It had a gigantic release with tons of release events and massive viewership on Twitch initially. With its more fantasy-like setting, it stood out from the crowd, be it the crafting system, the unique items, the mounts that could be used for traversal, or the hilarious knock-outs. Instead of players crawling when knocked down, they turn into chickens and flutter about.

Realm Royale enjoyed popularity for a while, but it fizzled out eventually, and its recent re-release did not work out well at all. That was pretty much the final nail in the game's coffin.