During Sony’s latest State of Play it was announced that Spellbreak — an upcoming fantasy battle royale game — will be launching on the PlayStation 4 next spring. Currently in a Closed Beta on PC, the title recently pulled in a $20 million investment and has been a hit with those who have the chance to go hands-on with the title.
Seth Sivak, CEO of developer Proletariat, says that, “The PlayStation 4 will be a great place to play Spellbreak and we’re very excited to give that audience of players a chance to join us in the Closed Beta Program next spring.” Proletariat is composed of former employees of Harmonix, Turbine, and Insomniac — with such pedigree, it’s no wonder the company was able to land a multi-million-dollar investment.
Spellbreak isn’t your typical battle royale experience. Forgoing guns, vehicles, or building mechanics, the game instead focuses on frenetic magic-based action. Players equip Gauntlets which grant them the ability to throw fireballs, whirl tornados to life, or crack the earth below them to start a shockwave. The action is incredibly fast paced while still allowing for a surprisingly deep amount of tactical RPG gameplay. One reason for this is that as the battlefield shrinks, your arsenal of abilities grows. This means that you have more destructive weapons at your disposal later on in the match, leading to some absolutely wild finishes.
The game seems like a perfect fit for the PlayStation 4 and should be able to go toe-to-toe with other huge names in the battle royale space. During our hands-on time with the game, we found it to be incredibly polished even though it was only in beta testing. Spellbreak does have a steep learning curve, but the team is well aware of this and is taking steps to slowly walk players through the intricacies of the combat system.
Proletariat has been around since 2012 and is composed of gaming industry veterans. Its employees have significant experience in the MMO world, and that skill certainly shines through. From deep combat mechanics to a Quest system, the team is doing everything they can to offer a unique, tactical (and magical) battle royale game.
Spellbreak is currently in Closed Beta on PC and will be entering a Closed Beta on the PS4 in Spring 2020. Gamers interested in taking part in the magic-slinging action on PS4 can sign up here.