Wikipedia

Realm Royale

Realm Royale is a cancelled free-to-play third-person shooter battle royale game developed by Heroic Leap Games and published by Hi-Rez Studios. The game features multiple character classes each with unique abilities.[2][3] It is a spin-off of the hero shooter Paladins, where it originated as a game mode known as "Battlegrounds".[4][2][5]

Realm Royale Reforged
Developer(s)Heroic Leap Games
Publisher(s)Hi-Rez Studios
EngineUnreal Engine 3[1]
Platform(s)
ReleaseCancelled
Genre(s)Battle royale, third-person shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

The game was released for Microsoft Windows via Steam's early access program in June 2018,[4] with versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One released two months later.[6][7] Realm Royale entered open beta on PS4 and Xbox One on January 22, 2019.[8] On May 24, 2019, the game entered closed beta on Nintendo Switch and went into open beta on June 20, 2019. On August 22, 2022, the game was updated as Realm Royale Reforged, marking the first update to the game since February 2020.[9] On October 18, 2024, Hi-Rez Studios subsidiary Evil Mojo Games, through a post on Steam, announced the shut down of Realm Royale's servers on February 17, 2025 while still in beta.[10]

Gameplay

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The game plays similarly to other games in the Battle Royale genre, in which 100 players drop down from an airship and must traverse a shrinking safe area, collect equipment such as weapons and abilities to fight and eliminate opponents, and aim to be the last remaining player. [11][5] In the Trios mode, players are grouped into teams of three against a total of 100 players. The game also includes Realm Wars, a 10 versus 10 team deathmatch mode on a separate map named Primal Island, as well as an upcoming 40-player mini battle royale mode, also on a separate map. A crafting system allows found items to be disenchanted for shards to craft better items or abilities at fixed locations found on the map,[3] called Forges, which often become contested by many players.[11][12] Players who have been "knocked down" by other players are transformed into a chicken, and may be transformed back if they manage to survive attackers for a period of time, during which "chickened" players have the option to deal small amounts of damage in the form of short-range melee attacks.[5] The game includes a battle pass that rewards players with character and menu cosmetics. There are five classes, with each class having specific "talents" that can be earned by leveling up.[13]

Development

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The game is developed and marketed by Hi-Rez Studios, which are known for multiplayer online battle arena games such as Paladins and Smite.

Initially, the game was intended as a separate game mode for the game Paladins, but was later developed into a separate offshoot, which was initially called Paladins: Battlegrounds and is now Realm Royale. The game was released for free on June 5, 2018, for Windows as part of the Steam Early Access program.[14] A version for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was also released.[15][16]

In February 2020, the "Deviled Eggs" (also known as "OB23") update was released, after which no update was released for the next 2 years. Throughout 2022, some teasers were released indicating an upcoming update to Realm Royale. In July 2022, Realm Royale Reforged was released on test servers, with the full version releasing a month later. Realm Royale Reforged is currently maintained by a team of two developers working under Hi-Rez Studios, with occasional help from Evil Mojo Games, who develop Paladins.

Reception

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Pre-release reception

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Realm Royale received generally favorable reviews from critics.[17][18]

Realm Royale's visual style and gameplay have drawn comparisons with the MMORPG World of Warcraft.[11] Alex Avard of GamesRadar+ likened the game's classes to "the early days of World of Warcraft's PvP, in all the right ways."[5] Jordan Forward of PCGamesN named the Forge as a key addition that a real sense of direction to the early and mid-game of Realm Royale".[11] Due to the game principle, such as the character class system, Realm Royale is also compared with Fortnite and Overwatch.[22][23][24] Some critics[who?] are also of the opinion that, in contrast to Fortnite, the game is not overwhelmed with the many and hectic construction functions and the game runs faster overall than in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and other comparable titles.[25] Furthermore, the combination of multiplayer online battle arena or hero shooter and battle royale is praised.[26] GamesRadar+ inducted the game in their top "Free PS4 games: The best titles you can download without paying a thing".[27] TheGamer listed Realm Royale in their top "Best Battle Royale Games For Newbies" praised the various magical abilities, indicating "Making every battle with players sometimes feel much different from the last".[28] Trusted Reviews integrated the game in their "Best Battle Royale Games 2020", calling it "fun" and saying "Some questionable development decisions meant the game declined in popularity almost as quickly as it rose but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. Give this a chance".[17]

Audience reception

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More than 100,000 players played the game in the first week after it was released on Steam, making it the fourth most played game on Steam.[29][30] The game gained fame among other things through live streams on sites like Twitch. After three weeks the game has reached over 3 million players and was number one of the most watched games on Twitch and Mixer.[31][32][33] In July 2018, the game reached 4 million players.[34][35] The game was the 4th most-downloaded free-to-play game on the PlayStation Store in the US and the 5th in Europe in 2019.[36][37] On July 2, 2019, Hi-Rez Studios announced that Realm Royale reached 10 million players.[38][39]

Awards

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Year Award Category Results Refs.
2018 DualShockers’ E3 2018 Awards Best Competitive Game Won [41][42]
Gamers' Choice Awards Fan Favorite Battle Royale Game Nominated [43][44]
MMO Huts-Best F2P Games 2018 Best New Battle Royale Won [45][46]

References

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  1. ^ Bott, Amanda (September 12, 2018). "Unreal Engine developers converge at Gamescom 2018". Unreal Engine. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Koczwara, Michael (June 5, 2014). "Paladins Battle Royale Spinoff Realm Royale Is Now Available on Steam". IGN. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  3. ^ a b *Makuch, Eddie (June 5, 2014). "New Battle Royale Game Hits Steam, Looks Like Fortnite, And Lets You Ride Horses". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Chalk, Andy (June 5, 2018). "Hi-Rez's battle royale game Realm Royale is now available on Steam Early Access". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d Avard, Alex (June 6, 2018). "Realm Royale is like Fortnite mixed with World of Warcraft, and it's better than it has any right to be". Games Radar. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  6. ^ Kimber, Jake (August 1, 2018). "Realm Royale Closed Beta Starts Next Week on PS4". Playstation.blog. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "Realm Royale is coming to @Xbox and @PlayStation… And Closed Beta starts next week!". realmroyale.com. 24 July 2018. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
  8. ^ "Realm Royale goes into open beta on PS4 and Xbox One tomorrow". VG247. 2019-01-21. Archived from the original on 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  9. ^ "'Realm Royale Reforged' relaunches the battle royale with massive overhaul". NME. 2022-08-25. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  10. ^ "Realm Royale Reforged - An Update on Realm Royale: Reforged - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 2024-10-18. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  11. ^ a b c d Forward, Jordan (June 6, 2018). "Realm Royale is no Fortnite killer, but it's full of new ideas". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  12. ^ O'Connor, Alice (June 6, 2018). "Realm Royale takes Paladins to battle royale". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  13. ^ Grubb, Jeff (2018-07-17). "Realm Royale joins the Battle Pass parade". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  14. ^ Chalk, Andy (2018-06-06). "Hi-Rez's battle royale game Realm Royale is now available on Steam Early Access". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  15. ^ "Kommt Realm Royale zur PS4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS und Android?". Mein-MMO.de (in German). 2018-07-02. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  16. ^ Avard, Alex (6 June 2018). "Realm Royale is like Fortnite mixed with World of Warcraft, and it's better than it has any right to be". Official PlayStation Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  17. ^ a b Bithrey, Reece (2019-02-08). "Best Battle Royale Games 2020". Trusted Reviews. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  18. ^ "Best battle royale games: what are the top games like PUBG in 2020?". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  19. ^ "Realm Royale Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  20. ^ "Realm Royale : Davantage qu'un Battle Royale "de plus" ?". Jeuxvideo.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  21. ^ "Realm Royale Early Access Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  22. ^ ""Besser als Fortnite": Neues Battle-Royale-Game begeistert User - derStandard.de". Der Standard (in Austrian German). Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  23. ^ Avard, Alex (6 June 2018). "Realm Royale is like Fortnite mixed with World of Warcraft, and it's better than it has any right to be". Official PlayStation Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  24. ^ "Realm Royale is no Fortnite killer, but it's full of new ideas". PCGamesN. 20 June 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  25. ^ "Ist Realm Royale das bessere Fortnite? Ein Streitgespräch". Sport1.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  26. ^ "Realm Royale: Battle-Royale-Spiel im Early-Access". computerbild.de (in German). 2018-06-13. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  27. ^ Avard, Alex (November 3, 2020). "The best free PS4 games to download and play right now". gamesradar. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  28. ^ "Best Battle Royale Games For Newbies". TheGamer. 2020-06-20. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  29. ^ "Realm Royale lost about 95% of its Steam player base since launch". VG247. 2018-08-17. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  30. ^ "Ces jeux vidéo ont été les plus populaires sur Steam en 2018". Gameblog (in French). 31 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-03-09. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  31. ^ "4 Gründe, warum Realm Royale jetzt 3 Millionen Spieler hat". Mein-MMO.de (in German). 2018-07-01. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  32. ^ "Realm Royale Hits 3 Million Players, First In-Game Purchase Available Now". Twinfinite. 2018-06-29. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  33. ^ Jakobs, Benjamin (2018-06-29). "Realm Royle: Die Early-Access-Version erreicht 3 Millionen Spieler". Eurogamer.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  34. ^ Fermin, Margret (August 10, 2018). "Is Realm Royale Player Count Falling". PlayStation Universe. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  35. ^ "Realm Royale is getting PS4 and Xbox One closed betas next week". VentureBeat. 2018-07-24. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  36. ^ "Apex Legends beats Fortnite and more on PlayStation in 2019". Dexerto. 2020-01-12. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  37. ^ "Apex Legends is the most-downloaded free-to-play game on the PlayStation Store in 2019". One Esports. 2020-01-13. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  38. ^ "Realm Royale now Free To Play on Nintendo Switch". www.hirezstudios.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-19. Nintendo Switch owners can now join a community of over 10 million Realm Royale fans
  39. ^ Jones, Gary (2019-06-20). "Realm Royale free to play on Switch with cross-platform patch and Nintendo Online support". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  40. ^ "DualShockers' E3 2018 Awards — Ghost of Tsushima and Spider-Man Take Home the Gold". DualShockers. 2018-06-18. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  41. ^ @PaladinsGame [@RealmRoyale] (14 June 2018). "We are humbled by all the love we're receiving here at #E3.Best Competitive Game of E3 2018 by @DualShockers" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  42. ^ "DualShockers' E3 2018 Awards — Ghost of Tsushima and Spider-Man Take Home the Gold". DualShockers. 2018-06-18. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  43. ^ Glyer, Mike (November 19, 2018). "2018 Gamers' Choice Awards Nominees". File 770. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  44. ^ Sorrentino, Mike. "2018 Gamers' Choice Awards: All the winners". CNET. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  45. ^ @RealmRoyale [@RealmRoyale] (9 January 2019). "The @HeroicLeapGames team is humbled and honored for Realm Royale to be named Best Free-to-Play New Battle Royale of 2018 by @mmohut!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  46. ^ "Best F2P Games 2018 - Best Free to Play Games of the Year!". MMOHuts. 2018-12-31. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
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