Knockout City season 2 launches next week, new maps and balls detailed

EA's dodgebrawler Knockout City gets a new map next week as part of the second season's launch, and it looks pretty neat: It takes place in a huge movie studio spanning a heap of different film genres, and according to EA "the playing field changes in real-time" throughout matches. Fingers crossed that neon robot Godzilla thing doesn't hit too hard.

Season 2 is called Fight at the Movies and it launches on July 27. In addition to the map there's a new ball: the Soda Ball. If you cop this ball in the face, your screen will be temporarily covered with sticky soda, which sounds incredibly annoying, but sometimes annoying things are fun.

Aside from those you can expect the usual live service stuff: League Play, the game's ranked mode, will get a new season with new rewards, and you can expect new cosmetics and playlists too. There's also a new Crew Vehicle (a limo) which you can unlock in Crew Contracts.

Knockout City launched in May to good reviews and a healthy playerbase, thanks to the game's generous trial period—the game is free until you hit Rank 25, which should take all but the most dedicated a good while.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.