Wrestling is already a battle royale if you think about it. You’ve got a bunch of colorful characters in spandex throwing each other over ropes until only one person is left standing. It’s a formula that’s worked for the Royal Rumble since 1988. So, when the gaming world went absolutely nuts for the battle royale genre back in 2017, everyone just assumed a wrestling battle royale game would be the next billion-dollar idea.
It wasn't. At least, not immediately.
While shooters like Fortnite and Apex Legends were printing money, the wrestling world struggled to find its footing in the massive multiplayer space. We saw some weird attempts. We saw some heartbreaks. Honestly, the history of this specific sub-genre is a bit of a tragedy, defined mostly by a game called Rumbleverse that everyone loved but nobody played enough to keep the lights on. If you're looking for the definitive experience of a wrestling battle royale game today, you're basically looking at a graveyard of "what ifs" and a few cult hits that refuse to die.
Why Rumbleverse Was the Peak (and Why It Failed)
Let’s talk about Iron Galaxy. They’re the developers who gave us the Killer Instinct reboot, so they know how to make things feel "crunchy" and responsive. In 2022, they launched Rumbleverse. It was, for all intents and purposes, the perfect wrestling battle royale game. You didn't drop onto an island with an M16; you dropped into Grapital City with nothing but your bare hands and a desire to Suplex someone off a skyscraper.
The verticality was insane. You could climb anything. You’d be standing on top of a giant advertisement for "The Big Cheese," look down, and see two players brawling in the street. You could literally elbow drop from 40 stories up. If you hit it, the impact felt like a nuclear bomb. If you missed? Well, you were probably getting pinned.
But here’s the thing about Rumbleverse that most people get wrong: it wasn't just a button masher. It was a legitimate fighting game. You had priority systems—Power beats Vicious, Vicious beats Block, Block beats Strike. It was high-level stuff disguised as a cartoon.
So why did it die in six months?
Market saturation. By the time Rumbleverse arrived, people were already tired of the "live service" model. You had to buy a Battle Pass, check in for daily challenges, and learn a complex combat system just to survive the first five minutes. It was published by Epic Games, and when it didn't hit Fortnite numbers immediately, they pulled the plug. It was a brutal lesson in how the industry treats anything that isn't an instant, world-conquering success. Fans are still signing petitions to bring it back, but for now, it's just a memory of what a dedicated wrestling battle royale game could actually be.
The Royal Rumble Mode vs. Dedicated Games
When people search for a wrestling battle royale game, they’re often actually looking for the Royal Rumble mode in the WWE 2K series. There’s a massive difference between a game built for 60 people and a game mode that simulates a 30-man match.
In WWE 2K24, the Royal Rumble is a technical feat, but it’s limited. You can have eight wrestlers in the ring at once. The physics start to get a little wonky. Characters clip through each other. It’s fun, sure, but it’s a localized experience. You aren't fighting across a massive map. You're in a 20x20 foot ring.
The "Battle Royale" craze actually influenced WWE more than you'd think. They tried WWE Battlegrounds, which was this over-the-top, arcadey brawler with power-ups and crocodiles that would eat you if you stayed outside the ring too long. It had a battle royale mode, but the mechanics were shallow. It felt like a mobile game ported to consoles, and wrestling fans—who are notoriously picky about their simulation mechanics—didn't exactly embrace it with open arms.
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The Indie Scene and the Survival of the Fittest
If you look away from the big budget failures, you find the weird stuff. This is where the wrestling battle royale game actually lives today.
Take Wrestling Empire by MDickie. If you haven't played an MDickie game, you are missing out on the most chaotic, glitchy, and strangely brilliant experiences in gaming history. Mat Dickie is a solo developer who has been making wrestling games for decades. In Wrestling Empire, you can set up a battle royale with up to 30 characters in the ring at the same time.
It’s total anarchy.
Legs fly off. People get thrown through tables. The referee might decide to start attacking you because you accidentally bumped into him. It captures the "spirit" of a battle royale better than most AAA games because it accepts that wrestling is inherently ridiculous. It doesn't try to be a polished e-sport; it just wants to see how many physics objects can collide before the engine explodes.
Then there’s Super Animal Royale. Wait, hear me out. It’s not a wrestling game, but it has a massive following among wrestling fans because of the way it handles melee combat and "the drop." It proves that the top-down perspective might actually be a better fit for a wrestling battle royale game than the standard third-person camera. It allows for better spatial awareness, which is key when you're trying to dodge a lariat from behind.
The Technical Nightmare of 60-Man Grappling
Why don't we have a Call of Duty: Warzone but for wrestling?
The answer is netcode.
In a shooter, the game only has to track where a bullet goes. That's a "hitscan" calculation or a projectile path. In a wrestling game, you have "synchronous animation." If I grab you for a German Suplex, the game has to lock our two character models together. My arms have to stay on your waist. Your body has to arch back perfectly with mine.
Doing that with two players in a 1v1 match online is already hard. Doing that in an open-world environment with 60 players, where latency can vary by 100 milliseconds between users? It’s a nightmare. If I lag for a split second, you’re suplexing thin air while I’m teleporting behind a dumpster. This is why Rumbleverse was such a technical miracle—they actually solved the "grab" problem in a high-latency environment. Most studios just don't want to spend the money to figure it out.
What to Look for in 2026 and Beyond
We are starting to see a shift. The wrestling battle royale game isn't dead; it's evolving into "Social Brawlers."
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- User-Generated Content (UGC): Fortnite Creative 2.0 and Roblox are the actual hubs for this now. There are dozens of "Wrestling Tycoon" or "Battle Royale" maps in Roblox that have thousands of active players. They don't have the graphics of a PS5, but they have the community.
- Project 2K: Rumors always circulate about 2K Games making a standalone "All-Stars" style battle royale. Given the success of their "MyFaction" mode, they are looking for ways to keep players engaged year-round. A free-to-play wrestling brawler is the logical next step.
- The Fighting Game Crossover: Watch games like MultiVersus or Brawlhalla. They aren't "wrestling" games per se, but they use the ring-out mechanic which is the core of any battle royale.
Honestly, the best way to scratch the itch right now isn't a new game. It’s community mods. The Fire Pro Wrestling World community on Steam has created logic for massive "Stardom" or "G1 Climax" style tournaments that function like a battle royale. It’s 2D, but the logic is deeper than anything you’ll find in a modern AAA title.
How to Win Your Next Wrestling-Style Match
If you're jumping into something like WWE 2K24's 30-man Rumble or trying out an indie brawler, the strategy remains the same.
Don't be the aggressor.
In a wrestling battle royale game, the person who does the most moves usually loses. Why? Because moves have "recovery frames." If you spend your time doing a fancy 450 Splash, you're lying on the ground for three seconds. In those three seconds, someone else is going to throw you over the top rope.
You want to be the "lurker." Stay in the corners. Let the AI or other players beat each other up. Only engage when someone is near the ropes and has low stamina. It's "cheap," but it’s how you win. Also, always keep an eye on your stamina bar. In these games, stamina is your life. Once it's gone, you can't reverse moves, and you're basically a giant target.
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Real Steps for Fans of the Genre
Since the market is currently in a "rebuilding phase" after the death of Rumbleverse, you have to be proactive to find the good stuff.
- Check out the "Wrestling" tag on itch.io. You'll find experimental prototypes for battle royales that use physics-based combat. Some are janky, but they're often free and very creative.
- Keep an eye on Iron Galaxy. They haven't given up on the "brawler" concept. There are constant rumors of a spiritual successor to Rumbleverse that might ditch the Epic Games publishing deal for something more sustainable.
- Master the "Reverse" in WWE 2K. If you're playing the Royal Rumble mode in the flagship series, the game is won and lost on the 'Y' or 'Triangle' button. If you can't time reversals, you won't last five minutes.
- Follow the modding scene for Fire Pro Wrestling World. They’ve managed to create "Battle Royale" mods that allow for dozens of wrestlers with custom AI logic, which is the closest you'll get to a true simulation of the sport's most chaotic match type.
The dream of a 100-person wrestling battle royale game that actually works is still alive, but it's currently being held together by indie devs and passionate modders rather than the corporate giants. We're waiting for that one developer who can bridge the gap between "fighting game precision" and "battle royale scale" without falling into the trap of greedy monetization. Until then, stay in the ring, keep your back to the turnbuckle, and watch out for the guys trying to toss you over the top.