Best battle royale games to play in 2023
When it comes to multiplayer gaming, battle royale games have reigned supreme since at least 2017, when PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds first came into our lives. With winner-takes-all stakes, high tension, and a focus on survival against dozens of other competitors, it’s not hard to see why gamers can’t get enough of battle royale.
But with success comes growth. In the past five years, tons of battle royale games have hit the market, and even though many of them are free-to-play, it can be difficult to figure out what’s actually worth your time. That’s why we’ve put together TapTap’s ultimate guide to the best battle royale games to play in 2023. Whether you’re looking for mobile battle royale games or ones you can play on your PC, PlayStation, or Xbox, we’ve got you covered.
New battle royale games
We’ll get into our picks for the absolute best of the best battle royale games below, but there are always new battle royale games coming out to enjoy. Here are some of the most interesting recent battle royale games released in the past year.
Release date: April 24, 2023
Platforms: Android, iOS, PC
As one of the newest mobile battle royale games (also available on PC), Farlight 84 has been getting tons of buzz thanks to its colorful style and tight, hero shooter gameplay. As of launch, the game features fourteen different eccentric characters to choose between, each with unique passive and active abilities. Some of the standout options include Ducksyde—a guy in a theme park mascot duck costume, complete with an inflatable inner tube around his waist—and Maggie—a pizza delivery/cat-girl combo whose baseball cap includes pizza-themed cat ears.
Oh, and did we mention there’s spider-tanks? Yeah, there’s spider-tanks. Check out some Farlight 84 early review impressions from a TapTap editor.
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Release date: April 21, 2023 (closed beta test)
Platforms: Android, iOS
One of the most fascinating things to witness in the evolution of the battle royale genre has been developers slowly figuring out how to make battle royale games that are not all about shooting. The latest example of a more family-friendly battle royale is Eggy Party, which is currently in beta testing.
Reminiscent of some other more lighthearted battle royale games we’ll talk about later, Eggy Party is all about competing in Wipeout-style tests of reflexes and platforming skills alongside a couple dozen other players. Competitors will get eliminated in waves as you work through multiple rounds of mini-games, and you never know what wild challenges the game will throw at you next. Plus, check out these fully customizable Eggy characters! They’re so cute!
Check out some further thoughts on why Eggy Party is worth getting excited for from a TapTap editor.
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Release date: February 27, 2023
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and X
Having just launched into early access this year, Dead Cide Club definitely needs some work before it can compete with the best battle royale games on the market. That said, it’s still notable for bringing something truly unique to the genre: Unlike most battle royale games, Dead Cide Club is a 2D side-scrolling title!
Beyond its unique viewpoint, Dead Cide Club also mixes in some player-versus-environment (PvE) elements, including a co-op horde mode that has players teaming up to take down waves of bizarre monsters. It may not be as polished as the battle royale games that have been around longer, but this is definitely one to keep your eye on.
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Release date: September 1, 2022
Platforms: Android, iOS, PC
Lost Light joins the trend of mobile battle royale games that are also available on PC, and in this case, there’s even cross-platform play. That means that even if you’re playing on your iPhone and your buddy is playing on a PC, you can team up and try to survive together.
Beyond the multiplatform approach, Lost Light also stands out for the nice option to swap between first-person or third-person based on your personal preference and for its very realistic visual style. In keeping with that realism, players can modify their guns with a huge variety of parts. You can even trade with other survivors between matches in a fully player-driven economy!
207581The best battle royale games in 2023
Checking out a new game is always fun, but what about when you want the best of the best? Below you can find our picks for the best battle royale games to play in 2023.
Platforms: Android, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X
If you are interested in finding new battle royale games to play, chances are you already know Fortnite, but we’d be blind not to include it on our list. Though it didn’t begin as a battle royale, Fortnite’s most popular mode was added to the game in September 2017, and since then it has absolutely blown up. At this point, Fortnite is less a game than it is a pop culture hub that’s home to sci-fi and video game characters from all over the gaming landscape, horror movie icons, and even pop music stars—not to mention developer Epic Games’s always-expanding cast of original characters.
Even if you don’t want to blow money buying cool skins, though, the real reason for Fortnite’s popularity is the moment-to-moment fun of its core gameplay. And thanks to constant new mechanics and tweaks, like the recent addition of grind rails or last year’s introduction of a fantastic Zero Build mode, Fortnite never really gets old, even if you’ve been playing from the start.
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Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X
Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment shocked the gaming world with the surprise launch of Apex Legends in 2019. Despite coming out of nowhere, this sleek, stylish battle royale game was clearly carefully crafted. Its unique focus on hero shooter gameplay and two- to three-person squads has helped build a devoted fan base. And Respawn has kept those fans busy with a steady drip of new playable heroes—there are currently eighteen Apex Legends characters to choose between.
The only bummer about Apex Legends? Last year’s newly launched Apex Legends Mobile—which our editors really liked—is already joining the graveyard of dead multiplayer games. Boo! Still, the console and PC versions of Apex Legends show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. For more information on this one, check out TapTap’s history of Apex Legends.
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Platforms: Android, iOS
Free Fire—formerly known as Garena Free Fire—may be the biggest and best battle royale that almost no one in the United States talks about. As one of the earliest mobile battle royale games, Free Fire quickly built up a ravenous fan base that hasn’t really stopped playing since. The game reportedly has nearly 200 million players every day, and it’s constantly growing with new events, maps, and limited time game modes, not to mention an active esports tournament scene.
Need more evidence that Free Fire is worth checking out even if you haven’t given it a chance before? Take a look at TapTap’s Garena Free Fire review from last summer.
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Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X
When it released in 2020, Fall Guys was one of the first examples of how battle royale games could expand outside of the shooter genre and into something (mostly) non-violent. In fact, it wasn’t just appropriate for kids of all ages; it was downright adorable!
While this cute, game show-style, winner-takes-all competition is no longer as overwhelmingly popular as it was at launch, it still has hundreds of thousands of players every day and easily ranks among the best battle royale games, and it’s even moved to a full free-to-play model as of last summer. Our only request? Please put out an official mobile version!
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Platforms: Android, iOS
Sausage Man is what you get when you mix the goofiness and minigames of something like Fall Guys with the intense shooting and survival of Fortnite. This is by far the most cartoony and colorful mobile battle royale game around, and it’s full of goofy, entertaining arcade modes to enjoy when you need a break from the action.
The best reason to play Sausage Man is just to witness how delightfully silly it can be. This is a game that lets you dress up your sausage man (or woman) in a colorful hoodie, ride a sausage pig with a buddy, and team up to take down a massive sausage dragon monster. What more needs to be said?
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Platforms: Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X
Call of Duty has been the king of first-person shooter games for at least a decade and a half now, so when the franchise entered the battle royale genre, you can bet everyone took notice. And for good reason! Both the original Call of Duty: Warzone and the newly launched Warzone 2.0 have provided an excellent mix of action-packed military shooter and battle royale chaos.
The most unique part of Warzone is its “Gulag” system. Instead of instantly being ejected from the match upon death, players can get sent to the Gulag, where they’ll have a chance to take on other eliminated players and win entry back into the map. Everybody loves a comeback story, right? You can check out TapTap’s review of Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 for more info.
As for Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, it’s not available globally yet, but a full release is expected for later this year. If the limited release testing that’s been going on since last year is any indication, Warzone Mobile should be a great mobile battle royale experience.
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Platforms: Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X
Naraka: Bladepoint sets itself apart from other great battle royale games with a mythical Far East aesthetic and a focus on fast-paced melee combat. Take the best parts of PUBG and mix it with the best parts of Sekiro, and you’ll start to have a good idea of what to expect from Naraka. It may well be one of the most difficult to master battle royale games, but a dedicated and surprisingly friendly community should help for those willing to put in the effort.
Android and iOS versions of Naraka: Bladepoint have been in development for at least a year, which makes sense given that the game’s publisher is the mobile-focused NetEase. There’s still no word on when Naraka: Bladepoint Mobile will hit beta or full release, but when it does, it’s sure to be one of the best mobile battle royale games available.
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Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5
Fans of the horror-themed tabletop RPG franchise Vampire: The Masquerade have been waiting for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 for literally twenty years, so you can’t blame them for being disappointed when instead of an epic, single-player RPG they got...a free-to-play battle royale game. Surprise, surprise, though, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt actually turned out to be shockingly great!
The key to Bloodhunt’s success is simple: Adding vampires to an already-intense battle royale game just makes it even better. Sure, players can still use guns. But they can also choose between a bunch of different supernatural powers that mix up the gameplay in fun ways. Bloodhunt also makes great use of the World of Darkness setting, focusing on battles in cramped, gloomy urban areas that feel distinct from most other games in the genre.
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Platforms: Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X
Here it is: the granddaddy of all battle royale games. It may not have been the very first battle royale game ever created, but PUBG (aka PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) was the one that blew up, breaking Steam’s concurrent player records at the time and inspiring dozens of competitors, including probably every single other game on this list.
Even if you’re not interested in playing PUBG for historical reasons alone, it’s well worth checking out for the gameplay. Though it may not be as colorful or outlandish as other battle royale games, developer Krafton has kept PUBG fresh with regular updates that include new weapons, vehicles, maps, and more. And since it switched to a free-to-play model last year, there’s nothing to lose from giving it a shot!
Mobile players are also in luck, as PUBG Mobile is one of the longest-running and best mobile battle royale games in 2023. And if you’d like a faster, more futuristic experience, Krafton has also released New State Mobile, a reimagining of PUBG that’s perfect for showing off your new, more powerful phone.
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Platforms: Android, iOS
Let’s close out our list with something a little different. Zooba (short for Zoo Battle Arena) is another more cartoony take on battle royale, but in this case players take on the roles of adorable, Pixar-esque animals. The action plays out from a tilted top-down perspective, with fast-paced gameplay that’s inspired by MOBAs like League of Legends.
Between its packed roster of more than thirty adorable animals and multiple maps that rotate in and out of play with regular changes, there’s tons to learn and keep busy with in this title. If you’re looking for a great mobile battle royale game that offers something completely unique, Zooba is well worth your time.
176088💬 Is your favorite battle royale game not on our list? Or is there an upcoming battle royale game you can't wait to get your hands on? Share your recommendations in the comments.
Check out the link below to find even more battle royales from the most popular to the ones you didn't know existed.
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https://m.taptap.io/games/top-battle-royale-games-1001272256
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