Battle royale games exist thanks to Twitch streamer LIRIK, according to H1Z1 developer
H1Z1 Senior Developer Adam Clegg has named popular Twitch streamer Lirik as the reason why battle royale games exist.
During a livestream talking about the future of H1Z1, Clegg took a moment to specifically mention Saqib ‘LIRIK’ Zahid, and state that it was Zahid’s decision to stream PlayerUnknown’s ARMA II mod on Twitch that started the battle royale revolution in gaming.
“LIRIK, honestly, the guy, whether you believe it or not, he was the one who was the large streamer at the time with 10 to 13K views. That was was huge,” Clegg stated. “He was the one playing battle royale games. He was playing PlayerUnkown’s ARMA mod, and if it wasn’t for him playing all these games, there wouldn’t be any of this stuff.”
Clegg went on to state that popular games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds wouldn’t have been created without LIRIK supporting the original ARMA mod, saying: “This is all a side effect because a player made a mod, and a player streamed the mod, and gave it a platform to be seen”.
While battle royale mods had been available before it, H1Z1 was the first game to really embrace and offer a battle royale mode, and was the undisputed king of the genre until games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite were launched.
With the massive success of battle royale games, massive game developers have decided to enter into the market. Battlefield V will have the Firestorm mode, while LIRIK has already been playing Call of Duty’s Blackout beta which went live on PS4 on Monday.
With battle royale games becoming a massive sensation in the gaming world, it’s fascinating that it’s roots can be traced back to just one player streaming a game!