He was barely seen in the tournament, people did not feel like playing him. As has become customary when a game I play hits the skids, I’m keen to break down what I think went wrong.(This updates were done the after the Copa America) Having invested thousands of hours into Battlerite, it genuinely pains me to see its decline and - most likely - inevitable closure. Despite all the good that Stunlock Studios have done in the game and for the genre, it clearly missed its mark somewhere along the way. There are valuable lessons for the studio to learn, and I think it’s often helpful as an outsider to deep-dive and clear through the wreckage. This What Went Wrong won’t highlight all the good that Battlerite offers. I’ve written about the game many times, and promoted it to all who’ll listen.
No one can question Stunlock’s Champion design, kits, art direction or their ability to deliver a polished product. Heck, I’d go as far as to say the studio - and Battlerite - does most things right. Unfortunately, a combination of factors lead Battlerite on a path it couldn’t quite recover from.įrom the moment Battlerite launched, players have asked for nothing more than a list of key features that would not only support the community, but also new players, competition and retention. Universal chat, and private group channels (when navigating menus).While none of these features may set the world alight, they’re quality of life improvements that would unquestionably help the community grow. To login to the game, and face silence - when you likely have many questions - makes you feel isolated. It forces you to find players outside of the client, which is neither helpful nor practical. Why were Stunlock so slow to implement all the above when it would have unquestionably reaped rewards when it came to player retention? Battle Royale The elephant in the room, and one that - as far as I’m concerned - killed Battlerite. If you consider the man hours and resources that were directed at a game mode that was, in part, an attempt to not only broaden its appeal, but also capitalize on a current trend, it was always a massive risk. Not because Battlerite Royale was bad, in fact, it was an excellent spin on the genre. Unfortunately for Stunlock, they made a catastrophic error by making it standalone. Not only did this split the playerbase, but it was also confusing for new players (which to purchase?), resulting in both games needing vastly different balance, and resources that were likely already stretched, were pulled further. If things couldn't have gone worse, it also "officially" launching alongside Apex Legends, a game which no one anticipated. Had Stunlock kept Battlerite Royale as a seperate game mode within the existing client, it would have kept the community in one place, and housed everyone under a single Steam umbrella. Instead of new players seeing two Battlerites, with a community of 2,000 players in each (and thinking neither game is doing well), they’d have seen one with 4,000, and assumed it was an active, small studio title. Too Late To Address 2’s and 3’sĢv2 should have quickly been abandoned early into Battlerite’s development.
Not only did it split the queue, but it also resulted in the perception that Battlerite, as an arena brawler, wasn’t balanced. Inherently, 2v2 wasn’t perfectly placed and while it might have resulted in quicker queues for friends wanting to dive in together, it wasn’t healthy for the competitive image of the game. I regularly spoke to folks who perceived Battlerite to be unbalanced when, as far as I’m concerned, Stunlock are pretty bloody good at nailing it. This largely comes about from the fact I can often hard-carry matches, but also because I only played 3v3. To dive into 3’s, if you’ve only played 2’s, is a culture shock and comes with a steep learning curve. If players were only ever exposed to 3’s, they wouldn’t have known any different and would have had a much greater understanding of Battlerite's meta and balance.
Poor Ranking Systemīattlerite’s ranking system never quite sat well with me.
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