Byte Breakers is a 40 player battle royale, but it needs your approval

For all there have been attempts to lift the curtain of game development and show people how the sausage is made, game dev remains a pretty opaque thing. Initiatives like the Steam Early Access program help somewhat, by letting players give games a go while still being actively made and incorporating feedback, but it still feels like there’s a disconnect. One developer, however, is going a step further, with its new game Byte Breakers letting players try it out – and decide whether or not it’s worth continuing to develop it.

Byte Breakers is a 40 player battle royale game that also incorporates fighting and platforming, much like Smash Bros. or Multiversus. Despite it being quick to summarize, there’s a lot going on in this title as it attempts to combine two genres into one seamless whole. With 40 players all fighting to be the last squad standing combined with platforming, huge screen-shaking attacks, and some tactical stuff at play in the background – it looks like it might be absolute chaos, or absolute genius. Or both.

What’s truly unique about Byte Breakers is how it’s being made – or rather, how it might not be made. Developer Odyssey Interactive, creator of multiplayer soccer title Omega Strikers, will be running a playtest then asking for feedback on the game. That on the face of it isn’t too different, but how it’ll use that information definitely is.

“We’re making a 40 player platform fighter battle royale. BUT we might not actually ship it. We’re playtesting in public to find out whether we should,” Marketing Director Ryan K. Rigney writes on X. “This isn’t rhetoric—we’re serious. If you love it, we double down. If not, we icebox it.”

So if the playtest goes well, we could see Byte Breakers go all the way to a full release, emerging onto Steam as a complete game. If players, on the other hand, don’t like what they play – this might be the last we see of the title.

It’s a bold move and while the team insists that this game is still an early prototype, it already looks remarkably slick. The animations in particular look on par with those found in many finished games, so to throw all that work away feels like a very big step.

The Byte Breakers playtest will start on Friday September 13 for North American players only. If you’re interested in checking it out, or you’re outside of that area and want to keep an eye on the game, head over to its Steam page to learn more.

Should you want to check out something else instead, our guides to the best fighting games and the best platform games will ensure you get to play something we’re sure you’ll love.

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