Red Dead Redemption 2 could be set to receive a Battle Royale mode, according to a new leak. If this is true then eyes will roll into the back of heads so swiftly that there’ll be an epidemic of detached retinas, though the criticisms won’t matter. The Battle Royale bandwagon will continue to roll on unimpeded, and while it certainly has more than its fair share of detractors, I welcome its eventual omnipresence with open arms. Here’s why I’m completely cool with Battle Royale being “a thing” from here on out.
It’s just another game mode
PUBG is a mode masquerading as a full game. It’s brilliant, of course, which is more than evidenced by its extraordinarily large following, but the PUBG concept is destined to soon become forcibly inserted into a plethora of major multiplayer releases. For Bluehole this is a perilous situation, as while PUBG currently stands as only one of two majorly popular Battle Royale games, even Fortnite has shown that BR can function as an offshoot from a separate, larger game.
So what happens when more publishers with larger wallets start investing in BR modes? China already has a Battle Royale mode in its Call of Duty Online, leading to speculation that Call of Duty games in the very near future will have variations of the mode inserted into them. Now Red Dead Redemption 2 Battle Royale is said to be on its way, which will inevitably open up the floodgates and lay down the groundwork for other publishers.
PUBG fans have criticized Fortnite Battle Royale for being too similar, but soon the PUBG comparisons will slow down. Battle Royale modes will become their own thing, stretching beyond the influence of the game that made them famous, and PUBG will then have to compete with the games that it helped create. Modes such as Domination and Zombies have started out being explicitly linked to one particular franchise before going on to be included in a variety of other games, so why can’t the same thing happen to Battle Royale?
It’s a genius idea that deserves to be expanded on
It’s no surprise that Battle Royale is the next big thing. There’s a reason why publishers are looking to invest in the mode, and that’s because it’s a genius spin on multiplayer that can grant games more longevity. The last big thing, persistent online worlds a la Destiny, is much more difficult to maintain than throwing a bunch of players in survival arena and telling them to have at it. There’s a great future in Battle Royale, and plenty of room to improve on the current formula.
I have no issue with multiplayer games introducing their own variation of Battle Royale from here on out. I love PUBG and in many respects, Fortnite Battle Royale was an improvement over it. I imagine future takes on BR will continue to expand on the mode that PUBG pushed into the mainstream, making their own additions to it and continuing to perfect it. Fortnite dumbed down the shooting and introduced simplified crafting, which has a game-changing impact on how firefights play out.
Whereas in PUBG being blindsided by another player will more often than not lead to your death, in Fortnite Battle Royale you can swiftly turn around and place walls around you until you have the most advantageous positioning. It’s a change that turns the mode completely on its head, and I’m interested to see what innovations other developers will make. How would the potential introduction of horses over standard vehicles affect a Red Dead Redemption 2 Battle Royale mode? How would the setting impact on its gameplay? What would it be like battling it out with old-ass guns rather than modern military equipment? If the recent leak is to be believed, we’ll find out by the end of this year.
