Fantastic competitive games for solos and squads

PUBG: Battlegrounds took the world by storm when it started life as an Arma 3 mod, and we've seen the likes of Fortnite, Apex Legends, and plenty of others add their own spin on the map-shrinking fun found in the best battle royales on Xbox. Battle royale gameplay is competitive already, and even the genre itself is tough: many new games launch with the hope of getting their slice of the pie, only to become a footnote in the genre's history. The likes of Hyper Scape, Rumbleverse, and Spellbreak are just a few battle royales no longer available after struggling to resonate with players.

You'll generally find a number of these games on lists for the best first-person shooters on Xbox, thanks to their shared values and overwhelming popularity. If you're looking to choose a new battle royale game to sink your teeth into, the following list uses a combination of site review scores, community ratings, and some editorial input to flesh out our round-up of the best battle royale games on Xbox.

7. Forza Horizon 5 Eliminator

• Release date: November 9, 2021
• Developer: Playground Games
• On Game Pass? Yes

Forza Horizon 5 is a bit of an odd one on this list, we know, thanks to it being the only game here that has you racing instead of killing each other. It's also further down this list as it's not a battle royale game at heart, and instead has its battle royale-style Eliminator mode available as side content. Nevertheless, Eliminator is a good bit of fun and deserves to be here. Around 70 players are dropped into its map, which slowly shrinks over time, forcing you to go head-to-head in checkpoint-style showdowns to be the last racer standing. Everyone starts with the same car and must chase down better rides from around the map, or by stealing them from the players you beat. Only one player can come out on top here, and it's an adrenaline-fueled experience once you make it into the final group.

6. Super Animal Royale

• Release date: August 26, 2021
• Developer: Pixile Studios
• On Game Pass? No

Super Animal Royale is another game that shakes up the genre a fair bit, as it puts you in the shoes of a cuddly creature as you wield all manner of weaponry to kill your way to the top. As a 2D top-down shooter, it's significantly different from the rest of the games that will follow next on this list. In Super Animal Royale, you're thrown into an abandoned national park with up to 64 players in a squad or solo, and race to find weapons, armor, and items to eliminate all of the cute critters standing in your way. Customization plays a big part in Super Animal Royale, so expect to unlock a ton of costumes for your critters as you play.

5. PUBG: Battleground

• Release date: September 4, 2018
• Developer: Krafton
• On Game Pass? No

Player Unknowns Battlegrounds, PUBG Battlegrounds, or just PUBG — Krafton's big daddy of the battle royale genre has been known by many names since its days as an Arma 3 mod, and it's still going strong despite the competition. It's lost a large chunk of its player base to some of the other more recent games on this list, in recent years, but it's always kept to its original format and stayed true to what kickstarted the battle royale craze. Sure, it doesn't feel as polished as say, Apex Legends, but the player-vs-player combat is still exceptional fun. Drop in, find some weapons, take a vehicle for a joyride, and steal that Chicken Dinner!

4. Naraka: Bladepoint

• Release date: June 23, 2022
• Developer: 24 Entertainment
• On Game Pass? No

Naraka: Bladepoint drops the firearms for martial arts as players race across Morus and Holoroth in PvP, solo campaigns, and more. Naraka has racked up a huge player base since it launched in 2022, enticing players with its melee combat-focused gameplay and deep customization systems. Naraka's heroes are customizable down to their skills and ultimate moves so you can choose how you want to join the fight, giving 24 Entertainment's battle royale a unique selling point compared to other games in the genre. Ranged and melee weapons, parkour traversal, combos, and parries; Naraka: Bladepoint has it all.

3. Call of Duty: Warzone

• Release date: November 14, 2022
• Developer: Raven Software and Infinity Ward
• On Game Pass? No

With Call of Duty being a dominant competitor in the first-person shooter space, it's only natural that Activision would want a slice of the battle royale action too. Of course, it features the fantastic gunplay you'd expect from such a prestigious franchise and gets a yearly map reset with the launch of each new game. Activision smashed it out of the park with Warzone, adding a host of features not seen in other games of its ilk, such as the Gulag, a one-versus-one deathmatch you compete in once you die with the reward being a second shot at joining the game. Warzone is fantastic and embodies everything that makes the genre great, but its monstrous install size and its continued plague of cheaters make it a bittersweet experience.

2. Apex Legends

• Release date: February 4, 2019
• Developer: Respawn Entertainment
• On Game Pass? No

Respawn Entertainment's Apex Legends is at the top of its game, embodying everything that makes the battle royale genre great. It's a first-person shooter set in the Titanfall universe and has a roster of ability-wielding heroes looking to win their fame and fortunes in the Apex Games. Its modes are designed for solo and squad play, featuring fast-paced combat with a range of weapons across maps with horizontal and vertical gameplay scenarios. Apex Legends doesn't need vehicles, and instead sees you zipping, sliding, jumping, and phasing your way around the map as you chase down the win!

1. Fortnite

• Release date: July 25, 2017
• Developer: Epic Games
• On Game Pass? No

Unsurprisingly, Fortnite takes the top spot on our list, as it's a game that has won over players of all ages and remains one of the best free games on Xbox. The sheer scope of Fortnite's success is monolithic; in fact, the game is so successful that the likes of Eminem, Travis Scott, and Marshmello have performed concerts in-game. Yeah. Unconventional, sure, but it's happened.

Fortnite features a single-player mode, but it's found its true fame in its main battle royale experience and social hub. While its inclusion of a building mode that gave players a way to build huge towers above their enemies at phenomenal speeds was a unique selling point at one time, things have changed in recent years with the addition of a no-building mode for players who just want to dress up as all manner of pop culture characters and destroy each other in colorful third-person shooter gameplay. Unlike other games on this list, there are no Fortnite achievements linked to its battle royale mode, so if you haven't dipped your toes into its chaotic world just yet, you can take a look without the fear of adding it to your backlog of games to complete.

Do you agree with our list? What battle royales do you think should have made the cut? Let us know down in the comments.