Mobile games are big business, and with Chinese conglomerate Tencent at the helm of the industry, there’s no doubt the company is hoping for a hit with Ace Force, a mobile-based Overwatch clone available in China in Aug. 12. But despite early notions that the game is essentially the Overwatch mobile port that fans have always wanted, it appears to include one genius addition: a dog-based battle royale mode.
On July 29, digital games industry analyst Daniel Ahmad shared an Ace Force trailer, which shows Overwatch-esque maps and characters reminiscent of Overwatch’s Soldier: 76, Reinhardt and Pharah. Though the game is more stylistically adjacent to anime than Overwatch, it displays clear similarities to its precursor in aspects such as level design and overall gameplay.
Overwatch clones are nothing new, particularly in Chinese markets, but the choice to incorporate this additional mode, dubbed “Barking Royale,” potentially introduces some novelty in a crowded gaming market.
With a name that sounds as adorable as the mode looks, the Ace Force trailer’s brief moments of “Barking Royale” gameplay show an FPS where players shoot at sunglass-wearing pooches armed with weapons.
It’s unclear from the video whether this mode constitutes a true battle royale, though the name “Barking Royale” certainly implies one. In the current battle royale landscape, most such games are player-versus-player battles that take place on a map or enclosed setting. The game’s playable area gradually shrinks via circles or “storms” that do damage to players. In the end, the last player or team standing is crowned the victor.
There’s a strong market for mobile battle royale games in China. Knives Out, a mobile battle royale game from Chinese development studio NetEase, grossed $465 million worldwide in 2018 — $10 million more than Epic Games’ Fortnite.
Additionally, at the peak of its success in China, battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile had an estimated 70 million domestic players. However, Tencent opted to ditch the title after the Chinese government failed to provide a license that would have allowed Tencent to monetize the game.
As such, it seems likely that Tencent would want Ace Force's "Barking Royale" to be the newest addition to this genre in the Chinese market.
The approach bridges two of the most popular things on the internet — mobile games and cute dog memes — and it seems like almost an oversight that North American game makers didn’t think to do it first.
However, it’s possible that the lack of a dog-based battle royale game is a simple reflection of Western ethos around shooting these beloved animals. After all, while players have no issue slaying dragons, zombies, wild animals and even people, it seems that they may draw the line at slaughtering man’s best friend.
But for those who can appreciate a good animal-based battle royale, “Barking Royale” isn’t the only one making a whimper in the gaming world.
Earlier this year, King of Crabs launched on the App Store and Google Play Store. In the game’s battle royale mode, players assume the role of a crab and fight for winner-takes-all glory.
While it stands to reason that China’s newest addition to the battle royale genre could have benefitted from a more clever name like “Baddog Royale,” it looks to be a doggone good time.