Top 5 Battle Royale Games of 2020

Audio Royale
Audio Royale
Published in
5 min readApr 23, 2020

With over 50+ different battle royale games out in 2020, it’s obvious that battle-royale-style gaming is here for the long-haul. With mandates to stay inside during increasing restrictions due to COVID-19, online gaming is more popular than ever. In fact, during the peak of the crisis in Italy, gamers were playing Fortnite so frequently that Italian web provider Telecom saw an internet traffic increase of 70%, causing extreme stress on the servers. So while Fortnite, PUBG, and Apex Legends continue to dominate the scene — keeping millions of gamers playing — independent and big-budget studios are hard at work to create new battle royale game-concepts. Let’s take a deep dive into the top 5 battle royale games of 2020 to see what new modes, features, and characters will keep us playing into next year.

Call of Duty: Warzone

Since Nazi Zombies and various survival modes, the Call of Duty franchise has been testing out their approach to battle royale for the past few years. Their second battle royale mode, Call of Duty: Warzone, is free-to-play (you don’t even need to own Modern Warfare), and is taking the market by storm — as it stands at the time of publication, there are 30 million users playing Call of Duty: Warzone. So, how does it work?

Matches begin with 150 players scattered throughout a giant map, named Verdansk. There are 5 different sectors with 275+ points of interest. Similar to Call Of Duty, the gameplay is fast-paced, team-based, and exceedingly difficult. Even a single bullet can send you down to the Gulag — a 1-on-1 fighting extravaganza in which defeated players battle with one another for a chance to respawn on Verdansk. There’s a second mode named Plunder, which is a cash-grab style battle-royale beatdown.

You can read more about COD: Warzone on Blizzard’s website.

Counter Strike Global Offensive: Danger Zone

Like Call Of Duty: Warzone, CounterStrike: Global Offensive is free-to-play, so download and get started if you haven’t already. Its new battle-royale mode, Danger Zone, is nothing short of an endless source of frustration and fun.

Smaller than other battle royale games, CSGO: Danger Zone hosts only 16 to 18 players, and rounds last about 10 minutes. For a Counter-Strike map, the battle royale zone is huge, but there are familiar features like many of the weapons from CS:GO, and gameplay styles like hostage rescue.

Read more about CS:GO Danger Zone here.

Firestorm

Last year, Battlefield 5 announced their own take on a battle royale game: Firestorm. At first, there was only a small following of dedicated fans playing online. Now, gamers all over the globe are dropping into the gun-fueled frenzy.

Firestorm revises Battlefield’s gameplay for battle royale perfectly. There are capture points dotted around the huge Scandinavian map, drawing all 64 players into a blowout as they chase loot, items, and weapons. Firestorm’s best attribute? Not deviating from Battlefield’s classic destruction mechanics.

Though there aren’t as many players as Apex Legends of Call of Duty: Warzone,

Firestorm is esteemed for its audio-visual fidelity, making it a perfect match with a surround sound set up, making it one of the most realistic battle royale experiences available.

Mordhau

Maybe to their own fault, battle royale games reek of familiarity: a mad-dash to find weapons; noobs and no-scopers pitted against each other; a hellacious ring of plasma or fire or bad weather (thanks, Fortnite). Nevertheless, even in a sea of great experiences, it’s still exciting to find something that tips the battle royale genre on its head. Mordhau does so perfectly.

Mordhau is a slasher that brings a battle royale hysteria to the dark ages. Intricate and brutal, the Mordhau’s combat is a perfect fit to a battle royale game. Horses, castle sieges, and in-depth customization all make this battle royale game a standout of 2020.

Read up on Mordhau here.

Apex Legends

Even with all the new battle royale developments, one game remains supreme: Apex Legends. In 2020, Apex Legends will continue to improve, update, and build upon it’s sharp gameplay in order to continually satisfy gamers around the world.

Most interesting perhaps is Apex Legends’ rise to fame. The success of battle royale games can be a bit hard to predict. For example, few gamers knew about Apex Legends before it exploded onto the scene in February 2019. Now, almost a year later, Apex is in its fourth season — chock full of new features, maps, events, and the best updates.

With the right software, you can navigate new territories in Apex Legends with precision, take on your enemies like never before, and get ready to have control over all of your game’s audio. Take your gaming to the next level in all of your favorite battle royale games by pinpointing the source of gunshots, locating footsteps through walls, and increasing your situational awareness.

While you might not be sure what to do exactly during this COVID-19 crisis, one thing is certain: staying home and gaming can actually have a positive impact on your friends and family. Take this time to play the latest battle royale games, and learn about how to max out your gaming rig — completely from home — here.

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Audio Royale
Audio Royale

The world’s first PC sound driver tuned specially for battle-royale style games.