Who among us does not like a present-to-near-future military shooter with 254 players per server, vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, and a role-based class system set on destructible maps? Certainly not us, which is why we called BattleBit Remastered one of the most interesting shooters coming out this year.
That time is now, as the blocky-yet-detailed $15 shooter will hit early access on Steam this week on June 15. The release follows a ton of time in betas from its indie developers SgtOkiDoki, Vilaskis, and TheLiquidHorse. At $15, BattleBit doesn’t even have to be all that good so long as it’s at least a little comical, but based on the release date trailer (above) and some time with the latest beta test… it actually might be pretty good.
BattleBit Remastered supports 32v32, 64v64, and mammoth 127v127 matches. Players deploy as one of five classes with one of 45+ customizable weapons to fight on big near-fully-destructible maps with dynamic day and night systems. It’ll let you take control of tanks, helicopters, transports, and boats to fight it out. It’s a more tactical game at smaller scales, but the big fights are pure and delicious chaos.
In many ways, BattleBit Remastered looks like an alternate reality version of the present day Battlefield series, one which focuses on destructibility and high-lethality gunplay alongside combined arms—reminding me more than anything of Battlefield 2. This is also, of course, an alternate reality where DICE stopped caring about graphical fidelity to focus on clear silhouettes and things breaking up real good when you shoot them with a tank cannon.
That focus on the destructive environment and map changes over time also means a focus on performance. The developers cite a number of things we expect from high-performing FPS games. Stuff like code that’s “exhaustively optimized for high frames-per-second gameplay,” and “robust, esports-grade anti-cheat measures and active moderation.” BattleBit also promises “proximity-based voice chat for real-time communication with friendlies and enemies” and netcode with “high tickrate performance.”
The developers also say that they “currently don’t have plans to introduce microtransactions.”
You can find BattleBit Remastered on joinbattlebit.com and on Steam, where it will launch in Early Access on June 15, 2023 for $15.