Fortnite has made it impossible for new battle royale games to succeed
Rumbleverse, another fledgling battle royale, has announced it will be shutting down at the end of the month.
Developer Iron Galaxy Studios has announced that its pro wrestling battle royale game Rumbleverse is shutting down on February 28 after just two seasons. The melee-focused brawler, published by Fortnite creator, Epic Games, sees 40 wrestlers drop into Grapital City and battle to be the last person standing. While the reception was solid at launch, player count dwindled as it struggled to find an audience in the already-crowded battle royale genre. Now, only six months after it launched, the game is hanging up its boots.
This news was announced in a post on the Rumbleverse website, in which the company said that the game has 'been a labour of love' as it worked to "create a new experience in a popular and highly competitive genre”. While I never really got into Rumbleverse, I did try it out as the the unique idea of a pro wrestling battle royale sounded incredibly appealing. Ultimately, I found the experience a bit too clunky for my liking, but people around me seemed to get a lot out of it.
This isn’t the only battle royale to fall at the feet of games like Fortnite and Warzone 2. Apex Legends Mobile, touted as a strategy battle royale shooter, is also throwing in the towel. EA shared the news on the game's website, bringing an end to this particular attempt at competing with Fortnite and Warzone’s mobile counterparts.
Rumbleverse will be providing full refunds to any customer who spent money in the game. That includes anyone who bought a battle pass, or the in-game currency Brawlla Bills. The same can’t be said for EA, who has confirmed it will not be providing refunds on Apex Legends Mobile purchases.
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Down for the count
Iron Galaxy was right on the money when it called the battle royale genre “highly competitive”. It feels like it’s nigh-on-impossible to make a dent in the genre as long as Fortnite and Warzone are around. Not to mention PUBG and Apex Legends' continued popularity, with the two games being the third and fourth most played games on Steam at the time of writing.
It was unexpected that the genre even had space for Warzone when it first arrived in 2020. However, Call of Duty was already a powerhouse before, and that popularity carried over. Fortnite seems to have nailed down the formula for success with its model. It frequently rolls out fresh content, including collaborations and crossovers, with Dragon Ball being the most recent in Fortnite update 20.30.
Perhaps if Rumbleverse had partnered up with a wrestling body like WWE or AEW, it would’ve had more luck. Regardless, it’s sad to see the game go. We have to wonder if this will herald the end of new battle royale games trying to enter the ring with Fortnite and Warzone, or if these two behemoths have halted the growth of any subsequent IPs in the genre by salting the earth in their wake.
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