Battlerite leaves Early Access with free-to-play launch trailer

After a year-long stay in Steam Early Access, Battlerite, the MOBA-esque arena brawler our own Chris Thursten called "the best teamfight you've ever had," has officially launched and is now free-to-play. 

"It’s been one hell of a year since we entered Steam Early Access," said Peter Ilves, game director at developer Sunlock Studios, "and we can finally deliver on our promise to launch Battlerite as a free-to-play game, making it easily accessible to all PvP arena brawler fans to enjoy." 

In addition to the trailer above, Sunlock dropped a big patch to christen Battlerite's launch. The patch includes Thorn, the newest champion, as well as 200 items and cosmetics like skins and poses. 

Sunlock also outlined how Battlerite's free-to-play model will work. Each week, six different champions will be available to free players, and individual champions can be permanently unlocked via in-game and real-world currency. To unlock all current and future champions, you can purchase the $30 Champion's Pack. The $50 Ultimate Fan Pack, meanwhile, also includes a 10 percent experience boost, a smattering of mounts and other cosmetics, as well as five gold chests (read: loot boxes). 

Battlerite's official launch comes just two weeks after the release of its 'battlegrounds' mode, which plays much more like a traditional MOBA, complete with objectives to defend and crystals to destroy. However, as Sunlock confirmed in a statement, the core arena modes haven't gone anywhere.

Austin Wood
Staff writer, GamesRadar

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.