While some devoted fans may still lament the loss of developer Stunlock Studios’ cult-hit competitive brawler Bloodline Champions, the spirit of that game lives on in the studio’s new game Battlerite, a game which will officially shed its Early Access status in just a few months time.
According to this lengthy new post which Stunlock recently put up on the Battlerite website, the game, which can currently be played by purchasing its $20 Steam Early Access version, will fully launch and become a free-to-play title on November 8th. Additionally, players can look forward to the following content in the coming months:
September
- A free-play week which actually begins today, September 25th, and runs until October 1st. During the free-play week, anyone can download and play Battlerite for free to see if they’d like it.
October
- A special Halloween event which will begin on September 29th and last for a total of five weeks. While the event is live, players will be able enjoy a special Halloween-themed UI and earn a series of spooky new items including weapon skins, avatars, and legendary outfits.
- A major overhaul of the in-game battlerites system which will include reworks of how the system functions in a match and the ability for players to create their own pre-saved battlerite loadouts.
- A UI refresh that Stunlock is calling “UI 2.0.” The refreshed UI will include new visual effects, icons, sounds, and more.
- A new yet-to-be-revealed game mode.
November
- The full free-to-play launch on November 8 which will also include a brand new yet-to-be-revealed playable champion and 200 new loot items that can be found in chests.
- The official start of Battlerite’s first ranked season.
- A new AFK system that will detect and punish players who go AFK (away from keyboard) during matches. The system will also ensure that players who lose a ranked match due to an AFK teammate won’t lose any rating points.
- A second new champion named Destiny, The Sky Ranger.
- A limited-time Prehistoric Event which will let players purchase specially themed chests filled with prehistoric-themed items like weapon skins, dinosaur mounts, and legendary outfits.
December
- A Winter event which will include a specially themed chest and a new playable champion.
Early 2018 and Beyond
- Stunlock also plans to implement all of the below features in 2018:
- A Tournament system.
- A new in-game HUD and scoring system.
- A Clan system.
- Three new champions, all of whom will arrive in early 2018.
- New game modes, maps, and brawl events.
- A Lunar New Year event.
- Battlerite’s Xbox One console launch.
Battlerite already has many assets that should look familiar to fans of Bloodline Champions (characters, maps, weapon skins, etc.), so if you’re looking for a new game to scratch that old competitive itch, now is as good a time as ever to hop into Battlerite’s arena. Of course, if you’d rather wait until November 8 to play the game for free, we wouldn’t hold that against you either.