8 Video Games You Didn't Realise Broke The Industry

8. DayZ - Popularised Battle Royale

Okay, so getting the obvious thing out of the way first, I KNOW there are tons of people who love Battle Royale. It wouldn't be the most popular thing on the planet right now if there weren't, and it's inevitable that video game publishers will react to supply the demand generated by free-to-play titles like Fortnite, PUBG, and now Apex Legends.

People can enjoy what they want, and that's perfectly fine! If you don't like Battle Royale, then you can go play whatever you want... to a degree.

You see, the major problem with Battle Royale is that it encroaches into different franchises. Take Battlefield and Call of Duty, for instance. Both series made a name for themselves by providing two very different kinds of first-person-shooter experiences; Battlefield with large-scale, frenetic combat, and Call of Duty with fast-paced, close-quarters action. Now, the two most recent releases from both franchises dedicated large chunks of time to fashioning Battle Royale experiences, seemingly determined to capitalise on the latest trend at the expense of their staple game-modes.

Black Ops 4 didn't even have a single-player!

In terms of games that should be blamed for making Battle Royale 'a thing', Fortnite is most obvious to blame. It started out as a co-op, building... thing, and then pivoted to BR as soon as PUBG was developing mainstream appeal.

It wasn't the first though. That honour actually goes to DayZ, a mod for ARMA II that formally released in 2013. Yes, there was a Hunger Games mod for Minecraft that released a year earlier, but the tropes we most commonly associate with Battle Royale (military combat, hiding in bushes, etc.), started with DayZ.