Are you hungry for some real competition? The best Xbox battle royale games manage to blend intense competitive gameplay with surprising terrain puzzles, all the while asking you to push out the other players until you’re the only one left. No matter how talented you may think you are, though, there are always plenty of surprises around every corner, with other players more than ready to slap a target on your back.
If you’ve had your fill of Victory Royales in the best battle royale games and you’ve danced and emoted across the entire map, be sure to check out our list of the best RPG games for some more structured gameplay and roleplaying joy. If you fancy hopping behind the wheel and driving away from the circle instead with friends, our list of the best racing games is full of heart-pounding vehicular competition. Nevertheless, battle royales are arguably among the best Xbox games out there if you’re looking for competitive multiplayer and looting.
The best Xbox battle royale games are:
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Fortnite
- Apex Legends
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Hunt: Showdown
- Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds
- TABS: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
1. Call of Duty Warzone
Call of Duty: Warzone is full of all the high-octane FPS fun that we’ve all come to expect from the series but in a more intense format. Warzone has been around for a few years now, and it’s definitely been through some changes. But, after some alterations and reverting some of the changes recently, it is now in a better place and a compelling battle royale that’s well worth trying. It’s worth saying this one is especially entertaining if you can get some friends involved.
In the most recent map update, you’ll be dropped from the sky to find yourself parachuting into a European-inspired map called Vondel. While it’s not surprising to see Call of Duty taking inspiration from a particular canal-filled city again, it is all set to refresh with the Call of Duty MW3 release date later this year as the Call of Duty Warzone Urzikstan new map gets introduced.
Warzone follows the traditional genre trends, with scavenging and survival at its forefront, perfect for newer players who may be familiar with the series and want to get to grips with the gameplay style. To make the most of each match though, you will need to keep up with the Call of Duty Warzone meta, Call of Duty Warzone best guns, and our picks for the best Call of Duty Warzone loadouts.
2. Fortnite
You may not be able to touch down in Tomato Town any longer, but that shouldn’t stop you from embracing the wacky map and upgraded game mechanics the current version of Fortnite has to offer. In all its cartoony glory, this battle royale has made waves by constantly keeping up with trends and adding emotes and costumes to boot. There’s nothing quite like someone doing the Macarena over your avatar’s downed body, which is one of the many reason’s why it’s one of the best games you can play right now.
As you move from the lobby into the game, you’ll need to quickly thank the bus driver, as locating a safe zone to drop from is imperative to your match’s longevity. Once topside, the looting can begin; just be sure to watch your back, as others won’t miss an opportunity to attack.
From here, every player will be slowly forced into its center, fighting one by one in classic royale style until, finally, a winner is crowned. Don’t fret if you get taken out early, though, as Fortnite’s massive player base means you can drop into another match in minutes.
While the base game is free to play, like many of the other battle royales on the list, Fortnite does feature a paid battle pass that will allow you to access more content for your avatar. In addition, courtesy of Fortnite’s star power, the map often plays home to special timed events and concerts, offering fun ways to interact beyond the fight.
3. Apex Legends
Whether you want to take on teams with your squad or enter a gunfight with other players one at a time, Apex Legends is sure to scratch your battle royale itch. Set across a sprawling map, fighters will battle it out as the boundaries of the map shrink smaller and smaller, picking up guns and tools as you go. With a solid range of weapons and items to uncover in each speedy match, balancing the hunt for players and precious goodies will become imperative to your survival.
Apex’s playable characters Legends are broken down into class subcategories, so you’ll have some choices to make before you get into battle. Each class hones in on a range of unique abilities, so you’ll have options to play around with before you land on your preferred playstyle. This variety also makes for some wily gameplay as you try to predict what skills the enemy might throw at you next.
Apex Legends also offers a premium paid battle pass that, much like Fortnite, gives you access to additional cosmetic content that can spice up your matches. Or, you can deck out your favorite Legend or the Legend at the top of our Apex Legends tier list with those items.
4. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Taking a turn for the cute and cartoonish, we have Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which is all about surviving a busy obstacle course and getting in the way of other players as you go. Where battle royale shooters have a fully traversable map, Fall Guys opts to instead drop players into a specific set of different stages within its broader Blunderdome.
As you progress through the challenges, each minigame asks you to endure traps, tricky terrain, and even some oddball soccer, testing your avatar’s physics body to its limits as you try to stay on the board. To win, all you’ll need is to survive and succeed in each round, outlasting the other 40 players in the game. With others trying just as hard to take you out, you can get yourself into some hilarious high-risk, high-reward scenarios.
Adding to the mayhem, there are loads of costumes you can play with, including, most recently, the protagonist of Hideo Kojima’s intense walking simulator Death Stranding, Sam Bridges.
5. Hunt: Showdown
One of the more underrated battle royales on the market is Hunt: Showdown which features an intriguing take on the genre that is well worth exploring. In Bounty Hunter mode, the Hunt takes things in a new direction introducing a PvPvE experience where you’ll need to face monsters and complete your bounties, all while fighting it out with other players to become the swamp supreme.
Learning who to evade and how to get around beasts and players is a core part of the experience that twists the boundaries of battle royale.
6. Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds
A long-running fan favorite and a foundational text of the genre, Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, or PUBG for short, is a classic military-themed battle royale that throws you and up to 100 other players across a loot-filled map to seek out and destroy one another for victory.
If you aren’t a battle-tested bruiser and want to get your start in PUBG, they have a helpful training mode where you can hone your skills. Here you’ll have access to guns, equipment, and more from the full game, so you can get your base skills in order before tackling real human competition.
7. TABS: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
TABS: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator isn’t strictly a battle royale, though if you are in search of a similar competitive feeling with plenty of silliness and some godlike control over ragdoll combat puppets, it’s likely to fit the bill.
Playable online and in local co-op, TABS asks you to guide a wacky physics army against another equally bonkers physics-based army, using all the brains and brawn at your disposal. One thing is for certain – the results are always humorous.
While it may not feature the multitude of players that the biggest battle royale games are famous for, it’s a different look at the genre, which leverages its sense of humor and odd imagery well.
That covers our picks for the best Xbox battle royale games you can play in 2023. For a different kind of heart-pounding competition, you can check out our best competitive FPS games list which features more traditional multiplayer games.