Page 220 - The-5th-MCAIT2021-eProceeding

Significance of Player Elimination in Battle Royale Games
Popularity

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Sagguneswaraan Thavamuni , Muhammad Nazhif Rizani , Mohd Nor Akmal
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Khalid , Hiroyuki Iida
Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, School of Information Science, Nomi, Ishikawa, Japan 923-1211
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* Email: saggu ,nazhif , akmal , iida @jaist.ac.jp

Abstract
Battle royale games have been on the rise of popularity with over 350 million unique players and total revenue of over $1
billion since their first major breakout in 2017 with PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Fortnite. Battle royale
games often housed many players where players are gradually eliminated over time until there is only one player remaining.
The popularity of battle royale games are shown in the sheer number of players and the revenue from the sales of the game
or in-game purchases such as skins. This paper aims to analyze the game progress using motion in mind theory to find the
similarities and differences between three battle royale games: PUBG, Fortnite, and Fall Guys, and explain the popularity
of the games focusing on the reducing number of players over time due to player eliminations. The mechanism of starting
with high number of players and slowly eliminating them might be the reason why battle royale games are interesting and
have a high player retention. It is expected such games are challenging and engaging enough for players to ensure that they
will stick with the game for a longer time.

Keywords: Battle Royale, Player Elimination, Game Refinement, Motion in mind

1. Introduction

Battle Royale is a game genre where multiple players are loaded to the game, and players are constantly
being eliminated until the last remaining player, which will be crowned the winner. This genre was inspired by
the Japanese film titled Battle Royal, which features a last-man-standing competition (Rahkar Farshi, 2020).
The battle royale genre rose in popularity in 2016 with the launch of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
and Fortnite. Both PUBG and Fortnite maintained their top spot as the most popular battle royale game, having
over 350 million unique players and total revenue of over $1 billion (Iqbal, 2021). Both PUBG and Fortnite are
also available on various platforms such as PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and mobile, allowing them to reach a wider
audience (Al-Mansour, 2019). Fortnite and PUBG mobile have a free-to-play business model with sales of skins,
battle passes, and other items in their in-game shop. This freemium model makes it more accessible to children,
hence explaining these games' popularity among kids (Carter et al., 2020).
Game refinement theory is used to explain the balance between skill and chance, focusing on the uncertainty
of the game's outcome (Iida & Khalid, 2020). A good balance of skill and chance is essential to ensure the game
is competitive and fun. Based on the game refinement theory, the motions in mind are studied further to explain
our minds' motion. Both theories will analyze the battle royale genre and see why these games are interesting
even though they might seem repetitive. This paper will focus on three popular Battle Royale genre games:
PUBG, Fortnite, and Fall Guys.

E- Proceedings of The 5th International Multi-Conference on Artificial Intelligence Technology (MCAIT 2021) [205]
Artificial Intelligence in the 4th Industrial Revolution