Battlerite is a free-to-play team-based action game that uses multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) gameplay. It was developed and published by Stunlock Studios. The game is considered a spiritual successor to Bloodline Champions, meaning it follows a similar style but is not a direct continuation. An early access version of the game was released in September 2016. It sold over 440,000 copies within three months and was officially released on November 7, 2017.

In May 2018, the developers announced a new free-to-play game mode inspired by the battle royale genre. They planned to release it by summer 2018. However, in August 2018, the developers changed their plan. The game mode would no longer be free and instead would be released as a standalone game by the end of September 2018.

In July 2019, Stunlock Studios announced that active development on the title would stop. The last content update for both Battlerite and Battlerite Royal occurred in October 2019. At that time, both games were placed in "maintenance mode," meaning they would receive only minimal updates for the foreseeable future.

Gameplay

Battlerite is a game where two teams, each with two or three players, compete against each other. Before the game starts, each player selects a unique character called a Champion. These Champions have special abilities for attacking, defending, and moving. To win a round, a team must defeat all players on the opposing team. Winning three rounds wins the game. Each round lasts about two minutes. When time runs out, a Sudden Death zone appears, slowly pushing players toward the center of the map. The game can be played on different maps, each requiring different strategies.

In Battlerite, the goal is not to destroy enemy towers or base structures, as in traditional MOBA games. Players also do not kill neutral units to collect resources. Because of this, players cannot buy items or other resources to improve their characters. This results in fast-paced, action-focused gameplay with shorter matches compared to the longer, strategy-focused games common in the genre.

Reception

Battlerite received mostly good reviews from critics. On Metacritic, a website that collects reviews, the game has an overall score of 85 out of 100.

PC Gamer gave Battlerite a score of 89%, praising the game's speed, free-to-play system, and how simple it is compared to other games in its category. IGN's Ian Nowakowski scored Battlerite 8.2 out of 10. He said the game's random rewards for progress were "not very exciting," but he concluded that Battlerite does well in the arena. He added that the game's team battles are strong and capture what makes competitive gaming fun for many hours.

Battlerite became popular quickly after it launched. Two weeks after the game was available on Steam's Early Access, Stunlock Studios said they had already reached 200,000 players, even though the game was pay-to-play at the time. Today, Battlerite has a small number of players. According to SteamCharts, the game's player count reached its highest point in November 2017, with 44,850 players that month. By 2018, the average monthly peak had dropped to less than 4,000 players.

PC Gamer listed Battlerite as one of the best free games on the Steam platform.