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Battle Royale Games Tier List: Every Shooter Ranked

By Rank Parade Team · Updated October 3, 2026 · 17 ranked

Battle royale blew up a whole decade of gaming, and it hasn't really slowed down. We're ranking 17 of the genre's biggest names, from the ones still packing lobbies every night to the ones you've probably forgotten existed.

This covers the mobile grinders, the console juggernauts, and a few cult favorites that never quite broke through. Ranked by what fans and critics actually think, based on forums, reviews and community chatter, with our own read where the arguments get heated.

Think we buried something too low? That's half the fun. Rank it yourself and see where you land.

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SS Tier: The genre-definers

Fortnite

Still the biggest tent in the genre. Epic keeps reinventing the map and the modes (remember when it turned into a racing game for a season?) and somehow the live events still get people talking. Love it or hate the building mechanic, nobody's ignored it.

About Fortnite

Epic Games' free-to-play battle royale launched in 2017, known for building mechanics, frequent crossovers, and live in-game events. It remains one of the most played games in the world.

Developer: Epic Games
Released: 2017
Platforms: PC, console, mobile

Apex Legends

The movement and the ping system alone changed how shooters get designed. Respawn's hero-based take on battle royale feels faster and smarter than almost anything else on this list, and the Titanfall DNA still shows in every slide and wall-bounce.

About Apex Legends

Respawn Entertainment's hero-based battle royale set in the Titanfall universe, known for its fast movement and ping communication system. Launched as a surprise release in 2019.

Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Released: 2019
Platforms: PC, console

PUBG: Battlegrounds

The one that started it all on PC. Erangel is as close to hallowed ground as battle royale gets, and even with all its jank over the years, PUBG's slower, tenser pace is still what a lot of players compare everything else to.

About PUBG: Battlegrounds

The game widely credited with popularizing the modern battle royale genre on PC and consoles, developed by Krafton. Known for realistic gunplay and maps like Erangel and Miramar.

Developer: Krafton
Released: 2017
Platforms: PC, console

AA Tier: Still essential

Call of Duty: Warzone

Verdansk was a genuine phenomenon, and Warzone turned COD's gunplay into a battle royale that didn't feel like a compromise. It's had rocky updates and map fatigue since, but the gunfights still hit harder than most of the competition.

About Call of Duty: Warzone

Activision's free-to-play battle royale built on Call of Duty's core gunplay, originally launched with the Verdansk map. It has since cycled through multiple maps and seasonal reworks.

Developer: Infinity Ward / Raven Software
Released: 2020
Platforms: PC, console

PUBG Mobile

Took the PC formula and made it work brilliantly on a phone, which is no small thing. It's massive across Asia and beyond, and the esports scene around it is genuinely huge, even if western players barely notice it exists.

About PUBG Mobile

A mobile adaptation of PUBG's battle royale formula, massively popular across Asia, the Middle East and beyond. It runs a large competitive esports scene.

Developer: Krafton / Tencent
Released: 2018
Platforms: Mobile

Call of Duty: Mobile

Packs multiplayer and a battle royale mode into one app and does both well. The battle royale side borrows COD's gunplay and perk system, and it runs surprisingly smoothly for a game trying to do this much on a touchscreen.

About Call of Duty: Mobile

A mobile entry combining traditional Call of Duty multiplayer with a battle royale mode, developed with Tencent's TiMi Studios.

Developer: TiMi Studios
Released: 2019
Platforms: Mobile

Free Fire

Shorter matches, smaller lobbies, built for low-end phones, and it worked: Free Fire is one of the most downloaded mobile games ever made. Critics in the west barely talk about it, but that's a blind spot, not a flaw.

About Free Fire

Garena's mobile-first battle royale built for shorter matches and lower-end devices, especially popular in Southeast Asia, Latin America and India.

Developer: Garena
Released: 2017
Platforms: Mobile

BB Tier: Solid, dependable, loved by someone

Naraka: Bladepoint

Melee combat and grappling hooks in a battle royale sounds like a gimmick until you actually play it. Naraka carved out a real identity for itself, even if it never quite broke into the mainstream conversation the way it deserved to.

About Naraka: Bladepoint

A melee-focused battle royale from NetEase that emphasizes sword combat, grappling hooks and martial arts movement over pure gunplay.

Developer: NetEase Games
Released: 2021
Platforms: PC, console

New State Mobile

A proper PUBG follow-up with near-future weapons and a denser map in Troi. It looks great for a mobile game, but it never fully escaped the shadow of its older sibling, and the player base reflects that.

About New State Mobile

A follow-up to PUBG Mobile set in a near-future version of the PUBG universe, featuring a denser map and updated weapon systems.

Developer: Krafton
Released: 2021
Platforms: Mobile

Super Animal Royale

Cute art style, cartoon animals, surprisingly tight gunplay underneath it all. It's the battle royale you recommend to someone who says they hate battle royales, and it's quietly stuck around for years without much fanfare.

About Super Animal Royale

A top-down, cartoon-style battle royale starring weaponized animals, blending tight gunplay with a lighthearted art style.

Developer: Pixile Studios
Released: 2020
Platforms: PC, console

Blood Strike

A newer mobile entry trying to grab the Free Fire and COD Mobile crowd with fast matches and a lighter install size. It's competent and improving, but it's still chasing, not leading.

About Blood Strike

A mobile and cross-platform battle royale shooter designed around fast matches and a lightweight install, aimed at the casual competitive crowd.

Developer: NetEase Games
Platforms: Mobile, PC

Battlefield REDSEC

Battlefield's swing at the genre leans on its destruction and vehicle chaos, which does make it feel different from the COD and PUBG crowd.

About Battlefield REDSEC

A battle royale mode tied to the Battlefield franchise, leaning on the series' signature destruction and vehicle combat.

Developer: DICE / Battlefield Studios
Platforms: PC, console

CC Tier: Fading or flawed

Farlight 84

Jetpacks and mechs in a battle royale is a fun pitch, and it looks slick in trailers. In practice it's never built the player base to match the ambition, and it feels more like a tech demo than a destination.

About Farlight 84

A sci-fi battle royale featuring jetpacks, mechs and vehicle combat, aiming for a faster, more arcade-like take on the genre.

Developer: Farlight Games
Platforms: PC, console, mobile

Knives Out

One of the earlier mobile battle royales, popular in parts of Asia before PUBG Mobile and Free Fire ate most of its lunch. It did a lot right early on, but it's mostly a footnote in the genre's history now.

About Knives Out

One of the early mobile battle royale games, popular in parts of Asia before competitors like PUBG Mobile and Free Fire took over much of its audience.

Developer: NetEase Games
Released: 2017
Platforms: Mobile

Off the Grid

A stylish, Neill Blomkamp-backed sci-fi shooter with NFT baggage that scared off a lot of people before they even tried the gameplay. There's a decent extraction-meets-battle-royale idea in here, buried under launch controversy.

About Off the Grid

A sci-fi battle royale and extraction shooter co-created with filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, notable for its blockchain and NFT elements at launch.

Developer: Gunzilla Games
Platforms: PC, console

DD Tier: Niche at best

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Blackout)

Blackout was actually well-liked in its day, mixing Black Ops lore and gear into a tight battle royale map. Activision shelved it when Warzone launched, and now it mostly lives on as the mode COD fans say they miss.

About Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Blackout)

The battle royale mode included with Black Ops 4, combining characters, weapons and locations from across the Black Ops series. Discontinued after Warzone's launch.

Developer: Treyarch
Released: 2018
Platforms: PC, console

FF Tier: Pretty much done

H1Z1

This is genuinely one of the games that kicked off the whole genre, which makes its fall rougher to watch. Years of technical issues, lost momentum to PUBG and Fortnite, and a string of rebrands left it a shell of its early promise.

About H1Z1

One of the earliest battle royale games, emerging from a zombie survival mod scene before PUBG and Fortnite existed. It went through rebrands and shrinking relevance over the years.

Developer: Daybreak Game Company
Released: 2015
Platforms: PC, console

How we ranked them

We weighed staying power (is anyone still playing this?), innovation (did it change the genre or just copy it?), and how fans and critics talk about it now versus at launch. Mobile and console entries were judged against their own competition, not against PC giants they were never trying to beat. Where the community is split, we picked a side and explained why.

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FAQ

What is the best battle royale game overall?

By fan and critic consensus, Fortnite, Apex Legends and PUBG: Battlegrounds sit at the top, each for different reasons: Fortnite for scale and events, Apex for movement and gunplay, PUBG for starting the genre and keeping its tense, grounded feel.

What's the best mobile battle royale game?

PUBG Mobile, Free Fire and Call of Duty: Mobile are the three biggest, each dominant in different regions. Free Fire wins on accessibility, PUBG Mobile on faithfulness to the PC original.

Is H1Z1 still playable?

Technically yes in some form, but its player base and relevance have dropped off hard since its early mid-2010s peak, when it was one of the games that helped define the genre.

What happened to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout mode?

Activision discontinued it after shifting focus to Call of Duty: Warzone, which became the series' main battle royale going forward. Many longtime COD fans still say they preferred Blackout's map and pacing.

Why is Off the Grid ranked lower despite decent gameplay?

Its launch was overshadowed by NFT and blockchain controversy, which hurt its reputation before much of the audience even got to the actual shooter underneath.

From the blog

More rankings

Image credits

Apex LegendsCover: Wikipedia · Source
PUBG: BattlegroundsCover: Wikipedia · Source
Call of Duty: WarzoneCover: Wikipedia · Source
PUBG MobileCover: Wikipedia · Source
Naraka: BladepointCover: Wikipedia · Source
Super Animal RoyaleCover: Wikipedia · Source
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Blackout)Cover: Wikipedia · Source
H1Z1Cover: Wikipedia · Source