Brawl Stars

Brawl Stars is a freemium mobile video game developed and published by the Finnish video game company Supercell.[1]

Brawl Stars
Developer(s)Supercell
Publisher(s)Supercell
Platform(s)iOS, Android
Release
  • WW: December 12, 2018
Genre(s)MOBA, Hero shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Gameplay
Screenshot of gameplay in the "Bounty" mode

Brawl Stars is a multiplayer online battle arena[2] and hero shooter[3] game where players battle against other players or AI opponents in multiple game modes. Players can choose between several characters called “Brawlers” that they have unlocked through "Brawl Boxes" (the game's version of a loot box), the Brawl Pass, the Trophy Road, or purchased through the Shop.[4][5]

Brawl Stars has a variety of different game modes that players can choose from, each one having a different objective. Players can invite friends to play with them up to the maximum team size of the game mode.[6][7]

In addition, it is possible to purchase "Skins" with Gems or Power Points, or unlock them through the Brawl Pass, which will alter the appearance, animations, or sounds of Brawlers.[4][8][9]

Currency

There are three types of currency in the game.

”Coins” are the main currency in the game. Coins can be obtained through Brawl Boxes or in the Shop for free occasionally. Coins can be purchased with Gems. Coins can be used to purchase Power Points, Star Powers, Gadgets, and upgrading Brawlers which can be done once the required Power Points is reached.[10]

“Star Points” is a currency that is obtained for free and is used to purchase exclusive skins and several sized Brawl Boxes in the Shop. There are three ways to obtain Star Points: reaching a certain rank for a Brawler, losing Trophies in exchange for Star Points for Brawlers above 550 Trophies at the end of a fortnight season, or through Power Play events.[9]

“Gems” are the in-game premium currency which can be purchased with real money or obtained through the Brawl Pass.[4][11] Gems can be used to purchase Skins and the premium Brawl Pass. All players have the free Brawl Pass by default.[12]

Super

As Brawlers attack and do damage to enemy Brawlers, they build up their special ability, called a "Super". Each Brawler has their own Super ability, which can, for example, spawn a damage-dealing turret or a complete heal.

Star Powers

Each Brawler also has two unlockable (passive) abilities called "Star Powers", which can be found in Brawl Boxes, or inside the Shop once the Brawler reaches power level 9.[13] Damage-dealing Star Powers cannot charge a Brawler’s Super.[14]

Gadgets

Furthermore, each Brawler also has one or two unlockable abilities called a "Gadget". A Brawler’s Gadget appears in Brawl Boxes and in the shop once that Brawler reaches power level 7. Although Gadgets can deal damage to enemy Brawlers, they cannot charge a Brawler’s Super.[14] These abilities are, once unlocked, usable two or three times per match depending on the Gadget and are activated by pressing a certain "Gadget button".[15]

Trophy Road

The “Trophy Road” is a way for players to track their in-game progress, increase their rank, and earn prizes along the way. Prizes along this journey include: new Brawlers, Coins, Power Points (applied to Brawlers for upgrades), token doublers, new events, and several sized Brawl Boxes that contain additional contents. To progress along the Trophy Road, players must earn Trophies through battles. Once a player claims a reward they can not claim in again.[16]

Development and release

The team wanted to create such a game that was designed with mobile devices in mind first. According to Supercell's Frank Keienburg, "Our focus was on retaining a lot of depth while stripping away all the fluff."[17] Although the game contains some elements of the battle royale genre, these were implemented before the genre as a whole took off and the team did not set out to make a game with those elements.[18]

The game is notable for its long soft launch period during which virtually every aspect of the game changed.[19] Supercell officially announced the game via a livestream video on June 14, 2017.[20] It received an iOS soft launch in Canada the following day.[21] The soft launch would last a total of 522 days, during which internally it was doubted whether or not the game would ever actually see a general release.[18][17] Initially the game was played in portrait mode and had players tapping on the screen, this was changed eventually to players using analog controls and playing in landscape mode.[18][17] Other changes include changing the UI, changing the metagame and transitioning the game from 2D to 3D.[17] Frank Keienburg attributes the difficult beta period to the developer working in a new genre where they "weren't sure how to interpret its success".[18] The game soft-launched in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao and Malaysia for iOS on January 19, 2018, and on June 26, 2018, Android received early access to the game as a continuation of the soft launch.[22]

Brawl Stars was made globally and officially available on December 12, 2018.[23][2] It made more than US$63 million in its first month.[24] On June 9, 2020, Brawl Stars was released in China.[25]

Reception

Awards

The game was nominated for "Mobile Game" and "EE Mobile Game of the Year" at the 15th British Academy Games Awards.[26]

Critical reception

Brawl Stars received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[27]

Brawl Stars Championship

The Brawl Stars Championship is an open tournament for players across the globe, developed by Supercell. All players age 16 and up may participate. This tournament consists of monthly in-game challenges that would lead to regional online qualifier events. Through the online qualifier events, players can secure a spot in the in-person monthly finals. These events would lead to the World Finals.[28]

In 2019, this championship was known as the Brawl Stars World Championship. It was held on November 15 to November 16, 2019 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center in South Korea. The first place winner was Nova Esports after a 3 – 0 victory. Other participants competing included Animal Chanpuru, Tribe Gaming, 3Bears, Spacestation Gaming, and PSG Esports. With a $250,000 prize pool, it was the first international event for the game and had teams from North America, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea.[28]

In 2020, the World Finals will be held in fall with a base $1,000,000 prize pool with an additional $500,000 which can be earned through in-game championship offers.[28]

References
  1. Thier, Dave (June 14, 2017). "'Clash Royale' Developer's Next Game Is Called 'Brawl Stars'". Forbes. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  2. Minotti, Mike (December 12, 2018). "Supercell's Brawl Stars launches on iOS and Android". VentureBeat. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  3. "'Brawl Stars' review: 'Overwatch' lite, on smartphones". Young Post. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  4. "UPDATE: Tara's Bazaar". Brawl Stars. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  5. "How To Get/Unlock Brawlers in Brawl Stars? (Guide for Beginners)". Brawl Stars Up!. December 1, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  6. Torres, Ida (June 17, 2017). "Brawl Stars is an upcoming game from the makers of Clash Royale". Android Community. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  7. Hayward, Andrew (December 19, 2018). "Brawl Stars is a worthy, if simple, Clash Royale successor". Polygon. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  8. "Brawl Stars Skins List (Summer of Monsters) - All Brawler Cosmetics". Pro Game Guides. December 26, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  9. "Star Points | Brawl Stars News & Strategies". houseofbrawlers.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  10. "Coins explained: the best way to use, what they are, how to obtain". houseofbrawlers.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  11. "Gems | Brawl Stars News & Strategies". houseofbrawlers.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  12. EDT, Steven Asarch On 5/14/20 at 10:41 AM (May 14, 2020). ""Brawl Stars" added a battle pass but is it worth it?". Newsweek. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  13. "Star Power | Brawl Stars News & Strategies". houseofbrawlers.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  14. "#BrawlGadgets Update!". Brawl Stars. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  15. "Gadgets | Brawl Stars News & Strategies". houseofbrawlers.com. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  16. "Trophy Road Guide & Reward List". Game With. Game With. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  17. Hayward, Andrew. "Supercell on Brawl Stars, a mobile action game tailor-made for tournaments". Red Bull. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  18. Asarch, Steven. "'Brawl Stars' Game Lead Talks Lessons Learned After 522-day Soft Launch". Newsweek. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  19. Webster, Andrew. "Supercell's new game mixes Fortnite and Clash Royale, and its out soon". The Verge. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  20. Callaham, John (June 14, 2017). "Clash of Clans developer Supercell reveals new game, Brawl Stars". Android Authority. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  21. Funnell, Rob (June 15, 2017). "'Brawl Stars' Has Soft Launched on the Canadian App Store, Android Version Coming Soon?". TouchArcade. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  22. Sholtz, Matthew (June 26, 2018). "Brawl Stars is finally coming to Android, with limited access starting today". Android Police. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  23. Sholtz, Matthew (November 14, 2018). "Supercell's Brawl Stars is globally launching in December, and you can pre-register right now". Android Police. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  24. Vincent, Brittany (January 16, 2019). "Supercell's 'Brawl Stars' Clears Over $63 Million in One Month". Variety. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  25. "Tencent's latest game Brawl Stars rakes in US$17.5 million in first week". South China Morning Post. June 23, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  26. Fogel, Stefanie (March 14, 2019). "'God of War,' 'Red Dead 2' Lead BAFTA Game Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  27. "Brawl Stars". Metacritic. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  28. "Brawl Stars Championship has $1 million prize pool in 2020". Daily Esports. December 15, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
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