Brawl Stars

Brawl Stars is a multiplayer online battle arena and third-person hero shooter video game developed and published by the Finnish video game company Supercell. The game was released worldwide on December 12, 2018, on iOS and Android platforms. The game features a variety of game modes, each with a distinctive objective. Players are able to choose from a selection of 'Brawlers ', i.e., characters able to be controlled with on-screen joysticks inside of an in-game match.

Gameplay
In Brawl Stars, players battle against other players or AI opponents in multiple game modes. Players can choose between different Brawlers, there being 5 rarities (Rare, Super Rare, Epic, Mythic, Legendary), that they have unlocked through the Starr Road, the Brawl Pass, the Trophy Road, or purchased through the Shop to use in battles. In December 2022, Boxes were removed, and all previous methods to get them were replaced with Credits and Chroma Credits (removed in December 2023), which are used to unlock Brawlers, who are now mostly placed on the "Starr Road". Brawlers are placed in 5 rarities, with their cost in credits being determined by their rarity. During a match, players can use their Brawler's normal attack or their Super, a special attack that, charges up when damaging an opponent, or in some cases through additional means. Players can also equip their brawlers with power-ups known as Gadgets, Star Powers, Gears, and Hypercharges; Gadgets and Hypercharges are activated during a match, while Star Powers and Gears are passive abilities.

In addition, it is possible to purchase skins with Gems, Bling, and Coins, or unlock them through the Brawl Pass or randomly in Epic rarity (or higher) Starr Drops, which will alter the appearance, animations, effects, and/or sounds of Brawlers.

Player Abilities
Throughout the matches players have passive and active abilities. Gadgets and Hypercharges are active (they need to be activated by the player) and Gears and Star powers are passive.

Active abilities

 * Gadgets: Gadgets are in-game abilities (added in March 2020) in which players have 3 charges and can vary from brawler to brawler and each one has 2 to choose from. Some gadgets are game breaking whilst others are almost useless. A player can have 4 charges but needs to use the +1 gadget charge gear. They cost gold and can be unlocked through Mythic and Legendary Starr Drops.
 * Hypercharges: Hypercharges are in-game abilities (added in September 2023) that have to be charged by dealing damage to opponents. Upon activation, the brawler experiences temporary damage, health (shield) and speed buffs. During this time the super of a brawler has an extra ability added to it, e.g. the range of a sharpshooter's super shoots further and/or is wider. They cost coins to purchase or can be unlocked in Legendary Starr Drops or bought with gems in the shop.

Passive abilities

 * Gears: Gears, first added in November 2021 and then later reworked in October 2022, are in-game abilities that can only be activated when a brawler is in a certain state, e.g. below 50% health the brawler gets a 15% damage buff. Each brawler has 5 common gears and only some have an epic or mythic gear.
 * Star Powers: Star Powers were the first gameplay additions (added in March 2018) and are abilities that are unlocked at power level 9 and can be purchased with coins, each brawler has 2 to choose from. Star Powers vary widely from brawler to brawler; some affect supers, whilst others affect regular attacks.

Game Modes
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 a game mode.

Solo and Duo Modes

 * Solo/Duo Showdown: In Showdown, ten players individually battle in a battle-royale style match. Only one single round is present, and there is no respawning. Power Cube boxes are scattered across the map. Destroying them will drop Power Cubes, giving them health, damage and regen boosts. In Solo Showdown, the last brawler standing wins the match. In Duo Showdown, the ten brawlers are split into five duos, with the last team standing winning the match. If a team member is eliminated, they can respawn after fifteen seconds only if the other teammate stays alive. If the remaining teammate is eliminated, then the team loses the match. Picking up a Power Cube will contribute to both teammates' overall Power Cube count.
 * Duels: Duels is a game mode where two players battle it out in a best-of-three match. Each player assembles a team of three brawlers which they want to use in the match. The first person to win two rounds will ultimately win the match.

3v3 Modes

 * Gem Grab: In Gem Grab, two teams of three players each strive to collect the highest number of Gems possible. Once a team accumulates more than ten Gems, a countdown of 15 seconds begins. If the team maintains their ten-plus Gem count throughout the 15 seconds, they clinch victory. However, if the Gem count dips below ten, the countdown halts. If both teams exceed ten gems simultaneously, the timer activates for the team with the highest number of gems. A Gem spawns at the map's center every 7 seconds. Players can carry an unlimited number of Gems. However, being eliminated results in the loss of all Gems in possession, which enemies and/or teammates are able to collect.
 * Wipeout: In Wipeout, a team of 3 players attempt to gather 10 points, points are earned by eliminating players on the enemy team. Respawning is enabled. Upon reaching the goal, the game ends and the team wins. If the timer runs out, then the team with more points wins or if both teams have the same number of points, the game ends as a draw.
 * Bounty: In Bounty, two teams of three have the objective to collect 20 stars before the enemy team does. The team to reach the goal first wins the game, if the timer runs out, then the team with more stars wins or if they have the same number of stars, the team with the blue star (tie breaker) wins. At the beginning of every match, all brawlers start with a two star bounty. For each elimination they get, a new star is added to their bounty. If they are killed, the stars they had will be transferred to the enemy team's counter and they will automatically respawn with the two star bounty. In each match there is a blue star present at the center of the map, made as a tiebreaker if the teams have the same amount of stars.
 * Heist: In Heist, two teams of three brawlers have the objective to destroy the opponent's high-HP safe located near their spawn camp. The first team to do so wins the match.
 * Brawl Ball: In Brawl Ball, two teams of three brawlers try score goals by shooting the ball into the opposing team's net. The first to score two goals wins the match. The ball will spawn at the center of the map. Once a Brawler picks up the ball, it will not be able to use your regular attacks, Super, or Gadgets. The shoot button will instead shoot the ball in the preferred direction and using the Super will deliver a more powerful shot of the ball. A key thing to note is that if the ball carrier is knocked back, defeated, or stunned, they will drop the ball on the spot. If the timer ends and both teams are still tied on the same score, the game will enter a sudden death mode where all obstacles and decor are removed from the map. In this case, the first team to score wins the match.
 * Basket Brawl: In Basket Brawl, two teams of three players each have to score 5 points in a hoop. Players can score 2 pointers (inside the ring) or 3 pointers (outside the ring). When 5 points are scored, the game ends. When the timer runs out the team with most points wins, if not, then all obstacles are destroyed and the game enters overtime. When overtime ends and both teams are tied, the game ends as a draw. If a team scores during overtime they automatically win. A normal shot shoots a normal distance and a super shot shoots further and faster. A key thing to note is that if the ball carrier is knocked back, defeated, or stunned, they will drop the ball on the spot. Once a brawler picks up the ball it will not be able to use regular attacks, Supers, Gadgets or Hypercharges.
 * Hot Zone: In Hot Zone, two teams of three brawlers each have to capture all of the Hot Zone(s). Brawlers can capture Hot Zones by standing within the Zones' radius. A capture percentage bar will be shown above in the corner of the screen to show each team's overall progress in capturing the Zones. Only Brawlers are able to capture zones. Any non-brawler item won't be able to capture the zone. If no team fully captures all the Hot Zones by the end of the match timer, the team with the highest capture percentage wins the game.
 * Knockout: In Knockout, two teams of three brawlers each try to eliminate the enemy team in 2-3 rounds. The objective is to win two rounds to win the match. There is no respawning enabled. Once a Brawler is eliminated, they cannot participate any further until the next round begins.
 * Ranked: In Ranked, a random 3v3 game mode and map are chosen with a chance for a modifier. Winning a game increases Points, and Point thresholds increase a player's rank. As a player breaks through certain Point thresholds, Ranked Starr Drops are obtained. These can give the player skins, sprays, player icons, or bling.

5v5 Modes

 * 5v5 Wipeout: In 5v5 Wipeout, two teams of five players have to obtain 20 points before the enemy team does. Points are gained by eliminating opponents. Upon reaching the goal, the match ends. If the timer runs out and each team has the same amount of points, the game ends as a draw, if a team has the upper hand then that one wins.
 * 5v5 Gem Grab: In 5v5 Gem Grab, two teams of five players have to collect a total of 20 gems before the enemy team does. There are two gem mines, which spawn gems every 7 seconds. Upon collecting 20 gems, a countdown lasting 15 seconds begins. If eliminated, and the gems a player drops cause the counter to drop below 20, the countdown resets. These gems are then free to be collected by teammates/opponents. If the countdown finishes the game ends, or if the match timer ends, the team with the most gems wins.
 * 5v5 Knockout: In 5v5 Knockout, two teams of 5 players have to eliminate the opposing team. There is no respawning enabled. If a teammate is eliminated, all remaining teammates receive buffs, this increases there health and damage so as to give the player/s a chance to have a comeback or turn the game around. After a certain amount of time smoke starts rapidly closing in (towards the centre of the map) and upon touching it player are damaged. There are 3 rounds and once a team wins 2 rounds the game ends.
 * 5v5 Brawl Ball: In 5v5 Brawl Ball, two teams of 5 players have to score 2 goals before the enemy team does. The pitch here is in landscape mode rather than portrait mode. Upon scoring 2 goals or the timer ends and one team has more goals than the other, the game ends. If the timer runs out and both teams have the same amount of goals, the game goes into overtime (destroying all objects) and each team has 1 minute to score, if no team scores then the game ends as a draw.

Map Maker
Map Maker is a feature within the game that allows people to make custom maps and play them with selected modifiers. There is also a feature that allows players to submit their maps into candidates of the day, this allows the player's maps to be tested by the public in a game mode that rotates daily between Knockout, Heist, Hotzone, Solo/Duo Showdown, Brawl Ball and Gem Grab. When each game is played, the player can give the map a thumbs up or down. The map with the most likes/thumbs ups becomes the winner of the day and everyone can play it. Between November 2020 and February 2021, players could gain or lose trophies from the winner of the day, but this was quickly removed due to backlash from the community.

Mega Pig
Mega Pig is an event that occurs once a month over a weekend (starting on Friday and ending on Monday). Players have 15 tickets (amount of games to play), with every game they win it goes towards club progress, the more a club wins, the more Starr Drops they get at the end of the event (maximum of 20). The top three contributors get up to 3 extra Starr Drops, 1st gets +3, 2nd, +2 and 3rd, +1.

Removed/Seasonal Game Modes
Brawl stars has had a variety of removed game modes, from ones staying for years in-game to only a month or two.

Seasonal Modes

 * Present Plunder: Present Plunder is a seasonal game mode that comes into rotation during the Christmas/Winter season. It has mechanics similar to Brawl Ball where a team of 3 players have to collect the other team's presents and throw them into there own ring to score a point, at 2 points the game ends. When the match timer ends the team with more points wins or if both teams have the same amount of points, the game enters overtime (all obstacles are destroyed and the game lasts one minute longer). During overtime, if one team scores, they automatically win the match, if no team scores, then the game ends as a draw. This mode was first added in December 2019 and has returned to the game every year.

Removed Trio Modes

 * Siege: Siege was a 3-player mode in which there are 3 stages, each team also had a high-HP turret that hit players for 800 damage upon entering its attack radius. In each stage players have to collect bolts (that spawn in on the ground), and the team with the most bolts at the end of a round spawns in a bot. The level of this bot is dictated by the amount of bolts the team has picked up. The bot would hit players that stood in its way but it primarily targeted the safe. The first team to destroy the turret wins, if the match timer runs out the team with the higher turret health wins.

Weekend Modes
Old weekend events like Roborumble, Bossfight and Big game were removed in April 2024. Before May 2020 these game modes required tickets to be played, multiplying the reward gotten at the end of the game (whether it was won or not). They ended up being removed.


 * Roborumble: Roborumble was a mode in which a team of 3 players had to defend a safe against incoming waves of robots. If the robot destroys the safe the game ends and the players lose the game. Every game a team wins, the next level they play is more difficult, it starts from Normal, Hard, Master and Insane 1-16. The enemies players fight are called Shooter robos (a robot that shoots a player to deal damage, Boxer robos (a robot that is melee and punches to deal damage), Mini robos (a robot that is melee but has faster movement speed and cannot be outrunned) and Boss robos (a tanky robot that shoots missiles and is also close ranged).
 * Bossfight: Bossfight is a mode in which a team of 3 players had to fight an ultra-high HP robot. The game was won once the boss was taken down or the match timer ran out or if the bot took down all the players. Respawning was enabled in this mode. Whilst the player fight the boss, other robots spawn in (Shooter robos, Boxer robos and Mini robos). The games progressively become more difficult as the team wins more games, going through Normal, Hard, Master and Insane 1-16 difficulties. Throughout the harder levels the robot gets angrier (get damage and speed buffs), going through mad, furious, enraged and god mode.
 * Big Game: Big game was a game mode in which there were 6 players, a team of 5 and 1. The solo player receives damage and health buffs and the team of 5 are normal players attempting to take down the lone player. The game had a 2 minute 30 second timer, during this time the solo player has to survive and fight off the players. If the team of 5 manages to take down the player then the game ends and they win.

Clubs
Clubs are the game's way of socialising, sharing game replays and flexing pins, sprays and skins. Clubs also add another level of gameplay depth through Mega Pig. Clubs also have a variety of roles:


 * President: Presidents can expel anyone regardless of their role and can change club settings.
 * Vice President: Vice presidents can accept people into the club, promote or expel seniors or members. They can also change club settings.


 * Senior: Seniors can accept, promote and expel members, but they cannot do anything to Senior, Vice Presidents or Presidents.


 * Member: Members have the least amount of power and are incapable of changing settings within the club. They can participate in Mega Pig and socialise.

Brawl Pass
On May 14th, 2020, a game update added a new reward system called the “Brawl Pass”. The Brawl Pass is the game's version of a battle pass. When players compete in battles, they earn XP (formerly known as Tokens) to progress along the Brawl Pass, which the XP required would exponentially increase per Brawl Pass level. Players can earn credits, Gems, skins, Pins (emojis that can be used during battles or in a team game room), Sprays (equivalent to graffiti), Coins, Power Points, and Brawlers from the pass. There are two types of Brawl Pass. All players have the free Brawl Pass by default. Players could purchase the premium Brawl Pass with Gems, until 4 January 2023, where a change was made so the pass could only be bought with money. After 4 January, Brawl Pass Plus was added, being a different version of the premium Brawl Pass with better rewards.

Resources
The main resources in Brawl Stars are as following:


 * Gems: The premium currency in Brawl Stars. Can buy cosmetics, Brawlers from the Starr Road and the Brawl Pass. Gems can be bought for money or obtained in tiers in the free (or paid, beginning on 4 January 2023) portion of the Brawl Pass. Gems are also rewards in certain seasonal events.
 * Coins: Used to upgrade Brawlers and buy Gadgets, Star Powers and Gears for Brawlers. They can be purchased with Gems, bought from the Shop, found in the Brawl Pass, Starr Drops, the Trophy Road, Challenges and events.
 * Power Points: Used to upgrade brawlers up to power 11, along with coins. Mostly found in the same way as coins, but they can only be purchased in special offers.
 * XP: Used to progress through the Brawl Pass. They were originally called tokens. Available through daily and seasonal quests.
 * Bling: Bling was introduced in season 18 (April 2023). They can replace gems to obtain cosmetics. They replaced Star Points (a currency used to purchase some skin recolors and Power League). Bling is available by progressing through Ranked (via ranked Starr drops, which are obtained as climbing ranks), Challenges, Events, Trophy League and Power League (removed in March 2024).
 * Credits: Credits were introduced in season 16 (December 2022). They replaced Brawl Boxes as a way to unlock brawlers and can be used on the Starr Road. They can be obtained on the Trophy Road, Daily Rewards, Shop Purchases and Starr Drops.
 * XP Doublers: XP Doublers are used to double the XP gained from matches and brawler rank ups. These can be obtained through Daily Rewards, Starr Drops, Shop Purchases and Trophy Road (only at the beginning).
 * Mastery Points: Mastery points are unlocked by winning ladder or ranked matches. There is a daily limit of points that can be unlocked. These points progress your brawler masteries, which can unlock brawler cosmetics and progression items (Power Points, Coins and Credits).

Starr Road
The Starr Road was introduced after the removal of Boxes in December 2022. It serves as the gateway to unlocking Brawlers. Players can select a Brawler from a selection of others of the same rarity to initiate the unlocking process. The progress is made through Credits, a currency obtained in the Trophy Road, Mastery paths, Starr Drops and Brawl Pass. Players can switch to a different Brawler they wish to unlock at any time, with the accumulated credits transitioning to the new selection.

Once a Brawler is unlocked, it becomes a permanent addition to the player's collection. The Starr Road then presents a new selection of Brawlers from the next rarity tier to unlock. Alternatively, players have the option to acquire Brawlers from the Starr Road using Gems.

Until 29 February 2024, the Chromatic Shop, allowed to unlock Chromatic Brawlers through Chroma Credits, a currency obtainable through the Brawl Pass and used exclusively for unlocking Brawlers in the Chromatic Shop. Alternatively, Gems could be used to purchase the Chromatics.

Cosmetics
Brawl Stars has a variety of cosmetics, including skins, pins, player icons (profile pictures) and sprays. Some cosmetic items are exclusive or limited edition, i.e. only unlockable from Ranked Starr Drops, Events, or Challenges.
 * Skins: Skins come in 6 different rarities: Rare, Super Rare, Epic, Mythic, Legendary, and Hypercharge. Hypercharge (added in April 2024) can only be obtained through special events.
 * Pins: Pins offer a variety of uses, they can be used to express yourself during a match, used in game lobbies or in club chats. They can be purchased with gems, bling or can be obtained through Epic Starr Drops or higher rarity. They come with common, rare, epic and collector pin rarities. Collector's Pins can be unlocked through special events, challenges, and monetary purchases
 * Player Icons: Player Icons can be equipped on your profile or battle card. They can be purchased with gems in the store (when they show up as offers) or can be obtained through special events or Epic Starr Drops or higher rarity.
 * Sprays: Sprays are used to express oneself on the battlefield. They can be purchased with bling, gems or can be obtained through Epic Starr Drops and higher rarity. Other Player Sprays can be unlocked in special events and challenges.

Player retention
Newcomers and returning players are offered a login calendar, different in each case, to encourage them to stay in the game. These rewards are usually currencies, though some are skins or new Brawlers.

Brawl Stars Championship
The Brawl Stars Championship is an annual tournament, composed of a qualifying stage, available in-game, another Monthly Qualifier stage, a Regional Monthly Finals stage, and finally a World Finals stage, where the best teams compete to win the Championship. The first in-game challenge is similar to other challenges: the players must win 15 matches in the in-game challenge without losing three times. After 15 wins, a regional Monthly Qualifier stage is created, that gives access to the regional Monthly Finals. These events would lead to the World Finals.

Its first edition, known as the Brawl Stars World Championship, was held on November 15 and 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.

In 2020, the World Finals were held between November 21 and 22 with a base $1,000,000 prize pool. Half of the amount was raised using the profits from an in-game championship package. Eight teams participated in the World Finals, which were originally planned to take place in Katowice, Poland, but was moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PSG Esports was the winner of this year's championship with a prize of $200,000. The other monetary prizes were split between the other teams which won second to eighth place.

In 2021, the Brawl Stars Championship started on February 20. There are eight seasons for the championship that occur once per month starting from February until September. The Championship Challenges and Monthly Qualifiers are each live for two days per season. The top eight teams from the regional Monthly Qualifiers go to the regional Monthly Finals. 16 teams from the Monthly Finals from all seven regions come together to participate in the World Finals, which took place in this edition from November 26 to 28 in-person in Bucharest, Romania. The prizes for 2021 were $600,000 in the Monthly Finals, and a minimum of $500,000 in the World Finals with opportunities to increase this amount through in-game offers.

Development and release
Supercell set out to develop a team based game similar to League of Legends and Overwatch. The team wanted to create such a game that was designed with mobile devices in mind first. According to Frank Keienburg, Game Lead of Supercell, "Our focus was on retaining a lot of depth while stripping away all the fluff." 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.

The game is notable for its long soft launch period during which virtually every aspect of the game changed. Supercell officially announced the game via a livestream video on June 14, 2017. It received an iOS soft launch in Canada the following day. 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. Initially, the game was played in portrait mode and the movement controls were controlled by tapping on the screen. Eventually, landscape mode and joysticks were implemented. Other changes include changing the UI, changing the metagame and transitioning the game from 2D to 3D. Frank Keienburg attributes the difficult beta period to the developers working in a new genre where they "weren't sure how to interpret its success." The game soft-launched in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao and Malaysia for iOS on January 19, 2018. On June 26, 2018, Android received early access to the game as a continuation of the soft launch.

Brawl Stars was made globally and officially available on December 12, 2018. It made more than US$63 million in its first month. On June 9, 2020, Brawl Stars was released in mainland China, with the corresponding changes to accommodate to the Chinese laws.

Partnerships
The game has a partnership with Line Friends to create official merchandise, new skins for Brawlers that are based on Line Friends characters, sticker packs on Line Messenger, and new content. A pop-up store was opened in January 2020 in South Korea to sell the merchandise from the partnership. Merchandise is also available at major Line Friends retail stores and online. In September 2022, Brawl Stars also partnered with BT21, featuring new skins and Pins in-game.

The game partnered up with Paris Saint-Germain F.C. (PSG), a French professional soccer club, in 2019 to host Brawl Stars Ball Cup organized by PSG's esports division. There were three online qualifier events and an online playoff event. The top two teams travelled to Paris for the finals. The finals were played live at PSG's home stadium, Parc des Princes. All matches took place in Brawl Ball, a football-like game mode.

The game partnered up with PSG again in 2020 and 2021. During the partnerships, the game launched the Paris Saint-Germain Challenge. The challenges are similar to the championship challenges, but all matches are based in the Brawl Ball game mode. In 2020, the game offered a PSG skin for Shelly for players who won nine matches and lost four or fewer times. PSG's esports division also has a team that competed in the 2020 championship challenge. In 2021, the game offered a PSG Mike skin for Dynamike.

The game partnered up with Godzilla in 2024 to create official merchandise, new skins and pins for Brawlers based on various kaiju, and a new game mode named City Smash.

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

Critical reception
Brawl Stars received "mixed or average" reviews or 72 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic.

Pocket Gamer's Harry Slater scored the game 3 out of 5. Reviewing the game immediately after global release, he praised that game's progression. He criticized Showdown, the game's battle royale mode, for being the weakest of all the game modes that were in the game. He said that Showdown "doesn't capture the real madness of the genre, and there's a distinct lack of tension since you can pretty much see everyone on the map and what they're up to". He mentioned that something felt "missing in Brawl Stars. You'll play, you'll get new characters, you'll unlock new modes, but you're never having quite as much fun as you feel you should be doing." He continued on to say that "the action is relatively flat - in the team matches you know within the first few seconds which way the game is going." He concluded in disappointment because the game did not seem like "the huge step forward for multiplayer mobile action that a lot of us were hoping for."

148 Apps' Campbell Bird scored the game 3.5 out of 5. She started with mentioning that the game felt "like a combination of Arena of Valor and Overwatch." She praised the game's graphics and the developer's implementation of the progression system to encourage players to play again, as well as the quick matchmaking. However, she criticized the game's controls for feeling "oddly loose and muddy". the characters falling "into pretty predictable hero shooter archetypes", as well as claiming that "every mode in the game is some variation on something you’ve seen before in other, better multiplayer shooters." She also highlighted that the frequent connection issues and unbalanced teams made the experience of playing the game less enjoyable.

Commercial reception
Brawl Stars has been downloaded over 200 million times. In 2020, Brawl Stars had the second highest gross of any mobile game in Europe. It grossed US$526 million in total in 2020, which accounted for more than half its life time revenue. It was also the fourth game by Supercell to surpass US$1 billion in lifetime revenue.