Battlerite Royale official artwork showing off Freya

As you might expect from the name alone, Battlerite Royale will be taking Battlerite's skillshot-based gameplay away from the tiny arenas and into the wide open world filled with plenty of unique abilities to acquire, players to smash, and loot to plunder. Originally Battlerite Royale was supposed to be a game mode within Battlerite, but according to a recent announcement its scope expanded so much it's now going to be its own separate (and paid) game.

If you're wondering what Battlerite Royale looks like in action, however, allow me to share with you the very first gameplay preview. It's not exactly a lengthy video, so have a look:

While I'm fairly optimistic about Battlerite Royale given that it has an excellent game to base itself on, I am somewhat worried about it not being a free-to-play game. The Battle Royale genre is incredibly cutthroat, so adding any sort of barrier to the influx of new players seems like a recipe for disaster. That said, Battlerite Royale is still nowhere near full release, so there's plenty of time for Stunlock Studios to change things around in some way.

Speaking of which, if you would like to give the developers a hand, as well as try out Battlerite Royale ahead of everyone else, you should go and sign up for the beta over at the official website. It doesn't say when exactly the beta will go live and how exactly they will be choosing their players, so I'd recommend taking a minute and signing up as soon as you can, just to be on the safe side.

Once more information is released I'll make sure to cover it, but until then I wish you the best of luck with your beta keys!