Overwatch Devs Talked About A Battle Royale Mode But Here's Why It May Not Happen

Given the immense popularity of the battle royale genre thanks to trailblazing games like PUBG and Fortnite, many are wondering if other games will follow suit and add a Hunger Games-style mode. We know Activision Blizzard is watching the battle royale space, so could Overwatch jump aboard and add a battle royale mode?

Don't get your hopes up. Speaking to Kotaku, game director Jeff Kaplan said he's intrigued by the idea, but pointed out that it would be no small task to get it done the right away. Kaplan, who says he has played "hundreds" of hours of PUBG, said he's concerned that even if Blizzard could do it, that it might not feel right without a lot of work.

"A lot of times when I hear some of our fans pitch it, they're like 'Oh, just put a card in the Arcade one day that's a battle royale mode,' and I'm like 'F***, that would be awesome,'" he said. "But there's a lot of design and tech work to get us to that place and not just feel like a me-too game."

Elaborating, Kaplan said Overwatch is "first and foremost" a game about heroes--and their balance is part of the reason why an Overwatch battle royale mode might not work. "Part of what makes the core loop work in a battle royale game is the search, the looting, and the fairness that everybody's sort of equal," Kaplan said. "Overwatch wasn't designed to be a 1v1. Every hero's not balanced against every other hero."

You can read the full interview here at Kotaku.

Kaplan's response is similar to what Take-Two president Strauss Zelnick said about the battle royale genre. He's watching the space with interest, but said he is wary of his studios at Rockstar and 2K following a trend instead of blazing their own trail.

Given how popular the battle royale genre is, we do imagine other games will add their own modes, while some new battle royale games might pop up altogether like this one. We'll be watching, and bringing you all the news as it arrives.

In other news about Overwatch, the next iteration of the game's Uprising limited-time event is starting later this month; here's what we know so far.