Epic Games CEO Says Battle Royale Is The Best Shooter Genre Invented

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The battle royale genre dominated 2017. Fortnite, PUBG, Apex Legends, and other games came out around that time and took over the gaming zeitgeist. We’re almost a decade out from the golden age of battle royales and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney believes it is the best shooter genre out there.

“If you look at the shooter genre, it evolved with new game types coming out over time based on what was possible with the current technology,” Sweeney said in an interview with IGN. “Battle royale just happens to be the best shooter genre yet invented — and thanks to both the Japanese movie makers and [PUBG creator] Brendan Green for discovering the magic there. But it’s definitely not the last. There’ll be more and it’ll get even better and new technologies are going to make things that are currently impossible, possible, and I think that’s going to unleash unexpected surprises and creativity.”

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Sweeney also spoke about the fact that people still view Fortnite as just a battle royale and not an “everything game.” Epic Games considers Fortnite a platform that includes creator-made modes as well as developer-created modes like Fortnite Festival and Rocket Racing. Battle royale, including it’s multiple spin-offs like Zero Build, is still the game’s most popular mode.

“That’s our central challenge, to have everybody recognize that Fortnite is the everything game and you can experience anything there,” Sweeney said, “and that’s going to take time. We’re going to have to deliver on a lot of other really awesome genres.”

While Fortnite does include a number of other game types and genres, none have come close to the popularity level that battle royale has reached. In other Fortnite news, the game’s Unreal Editor will soon get brick-by-brick Lego building.

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