Battle royale free games

The battle royale games of 2019

Battle royale games are here to stay. 2018 was a big year for the last-man-standing multiplayer format, as established blockbusters like Fortnite and PUBG continued to tweak their formulas and newcomers like Black Ops 4's Blackout and Tencent's free to play Ring of Elysium claimed a piece of the action.

There's no indication battle royale games will lose momentum, either. The free-to-play Apex Legends exploded onto the scene in February, drawing millions of players within its first month, and more battle royale games and game modes will spring up throughout the year, both from indie developers and big studios. Here are the battle royale games we're playing, the competition, and upcoming battle royales to watch out for.

The best battle royale games

The biggest and best games in the genre are still rolling out new features, maps, events, and updates on a regular basis. Here are the battle royale games we recommend in 2019.

Fortnite

(Image credit: Epic Games)

Fortnite was a worldwide phenomenon in 2018, providing a bright and arcadey experience to counter PUBG's measured pace and gritty vibe. Epic isn't shy about experimenting with wacky modes like 50 vs 50. making frequent and sometimes mysterious changes to its map, or by adding, of all things, airplanes. We don't expect the surprising, game-changing experiments to stop anytime soon. If you enjoy games like Fortnite, read on.

Apex Legends

Respawn officially announced its free-to-play take on battle royale in a dramatic fashion—the same day it launched. Apex Legends combines a hero squad shooter with the last-man-standing formula, and it became an instant hit, racking up 50 million players in its first month. It's added several new characters and with novel systems that allow great mic-less communication and the respawning of dead teammates, it's quickly become the battle royale to watch in 2019.

PUBG

We don't know if there will be a PUBG movie. but at this point we wouldn't really be surprised (we even came up with a script ). PUBG had a busy 2018, adding a third map called Sanhok and a winter map, Vikendi. plus new features like dynamic weather and bullet penetration. Expect new modes, weapons, vehicles, and maybe even more maps to keep trickling in as they have since it was released.

Battlefield 5 Firestorm
A fun and frantic battle royale mode that supports 64 players and sports a highly destructible environment. Matches take place on the largest map in Battlefield history.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 | Blackout
With grappling hooks and ray guns and a lot of nostalgia—its map recreates a number of locations from earlier CoD games—it's a slick and fun BR.

Ring of Elysium
Tencent puts a twist on PUBG by mixing extreme sports like BMX and snowboarding with deadly, dynamic weather like freezing blizzards and volcanic eruptions.

Fallout 76 Nuclear Winter
A circle of fire closes in around 52 players in teams of 4, all competing to be the next Overseer of Vault 51. There's also PvE against familiar Fallout critters.

Civilization 6: Red Death
Yep, even Civ 6 has a battle royale mode now. Up to 12 players lead military factions across a post-apocalyptic map as radioactive net closes around them. It's weird but fun .

Upcoming battle royale games

There's a lot planned for the rest of 2019 as the genre continues to expand, and we suspect there will be many more to come. For a taste of battle royale games in development, keep reading.

Planetside Arena

Pushing the limits of battle royale, Planetside Arena launches with a fast and chaotic 240-player battle royale. The sci-fi FPS from the makers of the Planetside series has a streamlined looting system (you'll find higher tier weapons with attachments already in place, rather than having to cobble them together) and personal transports in addition to vehicles that will seat an entire team. Earned XP will let players unlock new weapon blueprints, and currency collected during the match will allow them to 'buy' those new weapons and put them to use.

Survivor GameZ

(Image credit: Bohemia Interactive)

Survivor GameZ is the official battle royale spin-off of Bohemia Interactive's DayZ. The name comes from the Survivor GameZ tournaments held years ago in the DayZ mod for Arma 2, years before battle royale was a genre of its own. GameZ will probably feel different from the rest of the genre, thanks to its unique "phase" system that locks out large portions of the map from the beginning. The map opens up as the endgame begins, but players will need to interact with an object to not take constant damage. Bohemia is taking requests to participate in the Suvivor GameZ alpha now.

Pavlov VR

Pavlov, an Early Access multiplayer shooter made for the HTC Vive, is billed by many players as the closest you'll get to playing CS:GO in VR until Valve makes CS:GO in VR. The developer teased an eventual battle royale mode all the way back in 2017 but so far nothing official has been added. In a March 2019 update. develop davevillz said there is a community server running a battle royale mod made for Pavlov VR by a community member.

Mavericks (cancelled)

Mavericks was planning to be the biggest battle royale game yet, capable of whopping 400-player matches. Unfortunately, the game will likely never see the light of day. Developer Automaton recently announced that development has halted after a lack of funding.

"Please be advised that due to insufficient funding, the development of the Mavericks: Proving Grounds game has now ceased. The joint administrators are in the process of licensing the Deceit game so there will be no change in the live operation and provision of this game."

Spellbreak

Developer. Proletariat| Release date. Playable in alpha | Link. Official site

Spellbreak is attempting to shake up the battle royale genre by trading in firearms for arms that are actually on fire. Players equip magic to throw at one another, mixing and matching various spells to take out opponents. Spellbreak is currently in alpha, but you can play it now by signing up for the closed alpha on Proletariat's site (expect to wait 2 weeks for a key), or buying a founder pack through the Epic store .

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Devolver Digital announced a colorful new battle royale called Fall Guys by Mediatonic at E3 this year. It looks less like the head-to-head violence we've come to expect from battle royale games (but everyone seems to be calling it one, so here we are) and more like the physical humor of Gang Beasts meets Ninja Warrior. You'll compete with 99 other colorful little creatures to make it through ridiculous obstacle courses until one beady-eyed competitor remains.

Other battle royale games

There are all sorts of battle royale games and game modes available: some are in Early Access, others are in full release, and a number are free to play. Below, you're bound to find a last-player standing experience to fit your needs.

Ghost Recon Wildlands: Mercenaries

As a part of Ghost Recon Wildlands' final title update before the release of Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Ubisoft surprise-dropped a Battle Royale-like mode called Mercenaries. Mercenaries is a large scale free-for-all PvPvE mode that begins each player unarmed and alone. Players scavenge for weapons and activate radio transmitters that ultimately reveal the location of an evac chopper. First one to the chopper wins.

Mordhau

Medieval combat game Mordhau arrived this year, bringing with it a battle royale game mode. The intricate and brutal melee combat is a good fit for battle royale, and there are even horses to ride. It's a popular game with a large player base, so there's never a long wait to get into a match.

CS:GO Danger Zone

When CS:GO went free to play at the end of 2018, it came along with a new battle royale mode called Danger Zone. It's a smaller battle royale than most, hosting only 16 to 18 players, and rounds are short, lasting only 10 minutes or so. The map is pretty big (when compared to other Counter-Strike maps), but Danger Zone still features CS:GOs weapons and other familiar elements like hostage rescue.

Z1BR

H1Z1 left Early Access in 2018, and a week after launch it went free-to-play and added a vehicles-only mode called Auto Royale. While the long-running battle royale's playercount fell quite a bit in 2018, updates and new features continue to be rolled out. It recently rebranded (again) to Z1BR.

The Culling: Origins

It's been a rather bumpy road for The Culling. Emerging as a melee and crafting-focused standalone battle royale game in 2016, it drew a small but passionate following. But its follow-up, The Culling 2, was a completely generic BR offering that didn't retain much of anything from the original. The Culling 2 bombed and was pulled from sale after a week, and developer Xaviant refocused its attention on the original game, relaunching it as a free-to-play title.

Surviv. io

Developer. surviv| Release date. Playable in development| Link. Official site

While the minimalist graphics may not look like much—players are represented simply as circles—this top-down, browser-based battle royale is one of the most enjoyable BR games out there. Everything about it is fast: click play and you're instantly a match, and rounds only last a few minutes which make it perfect for quick and fun sessions. It's cartoony yet still intense, featuring fun weapons and lots of gear. Best of all, it's free.

Islands of Nyne

While a lot of BR games and modes are being made in response to PUBG's massive success, some were in the works before Battlegrounds was even announced. Islands of Nyne, a first-person only battle royale game, was crowdfunded on Kickstarter prior to PUBGs arrival. After a rocky stint in Early Access, it's now free to play, but will no longer be developed .

Darwin Project

Darwin Project. which we first learned of at E3 2017, pits players against one another to survive in a frozen wilderness while participating in a dystopian research project. Instead of just randomly running into other players as a circle shrinks around them, they can track one another down by following footprints in the snow, finding clues that point them to nearby players, and even by viewing a map found in certain areas that shows every other player's location.

After struggling to draw players in Early Access, Darwin Project switched to a free-to-play model hoping to cut down on long match queue times.

Battlerite Royale

Developer. Stunlock Studios| Release date. In Early Access| Link. Official site

Free to play MOBA Battlerite slipped the bonds of Early Access in 2017, and developer Stunlock Studios released Battlerite Royale into Early Access in September of 2018. On a map 30 times larger than its current arenas, 20 players duke it out using Battlerite's cast of heroes. It's not free in Early Access, but it will be when it's fully launched.

Dying Light: Bad Blood

Stemming from "numerous fan requests" Techland has created a battle royale-esque PvP game to compliment its open world zombie survival sandbox. Don't expect the sun to be blotted out by parachutes: the mode features 12 players, not 100.

This being a zombie game, you won't just be battling other players, and you may actually want to team up with them (for a while, at least) in what sounds something akin to The Division's Dark Zone. It's currently $20 in Early Access, but will be free at full launch, which planned for early 2019.

Super Animal Royale

Cute woodland creatures get the battle royale treatment. After dropping from a giant duck acting as a personnel carrier, players gather weapons and look for a vehicle (in this case, a huge hamster ball) and do battle with their cuddly, furry brethren. This is a fun take on battle royale. and it recently added a free demo you can play as long as you like.

Rapture Rejects

Developer. Galvanic Games| Release date. In Early Access| Link:Official Site

Set in the world of webcomic Cyanide and Happiness, Rapture Rejects is a cartoony top-down isometric battle royale that takes place after the Rapture among those unfortunately let behind. 100 players will gather weapons and fight to be the final one standing, with the winner (apparently) being accepted into heaven.

Last Tide

It's battle royale, but under the sea! 100 players in scuba gear are launched into the ocean in mini-submarines, where they fight to the death (or is it to the depths?) using harpoons. Jets streak over the water and drop depth charges, and sharks comprise the deadly closing circle. There are even chum grenades you can throw at enemies to lure sharks their way.

Fear the Wolves

Vostok Games, makers of Survarium, plunged into battle royale with Fear the Wolves. The former Stalker devs bring plenty of that grim and deadly Stalker style with them, as the arena is set in Chernobyl and the dangers go far beyond the other 99 players. Radiation, dangerous anomalies, and mutated animals pose threats as players make their way to the extraction point, hoping to be the sole survivor. The beta was in rough shape, but it's got a fun end-game .

Fractured Lands

Developer. Unbroken Studios | Release date. In Early Access| Link. Official site

Battle royale on wheels. In what looks like a mash-up of Mad Max and PUBG, drive through a devastated wasteland doing battle both in cars and on foot. The closing circle is a radioactive storm, and you can scavenge not only guns and ammo but upgrades to your vehicle. Fractured Lands has been in Early Access since August 2018.

Realm Royale

Free-to-play hero shooter Paladins announced a upcoming battle royale mode at its Hi-Rez Expo, and it's out now in Early Access. After some initial popularity, player numbers have tailed off and the class-based character system that set it apart from other BR games was completely removed, much to the chagrin of its fans.

Cuisine Royale

Developer. Darkflow Software| Release date. In Early Access| Link. Steam store

Originally created as an April Fool's joke, Cuisine Royale quickly blossomed into a fun standalone game on Steam. The gag is, your armor is assembled from bits of kitchenware like pots, pans, colanders, and waffle irons, and the loot boxes are refrigerators. Silliness aside, it's a solid battle royale game and a nice looking one, too. There's no lobby, plane ride, or parachuting, so it's also quick to get into a match for some looting and shooting. It will remain free while it's in Early Access.

Maelstrom

Maelstrom takes the battle royale concept and ships it to sea, where 15 players compete to be the last ship sailing in this fantasy naval combat game. Choose from humans, orcs, and dwarves, each with their own style of ship, and beware massive sea monsters who will sink you if you stray too long in the dead seas around the perimeter of the map's safe zone.

It's a fun and attractive ship combat game in Early Access, though it hasn't drawn much of an audience yet, meaning matches can take a while to fill.

Egress
It looks a bit like Dark Souls battle royale. Instead of a closing circle, water rises from beneath the city and players have to climb to stay above it.