PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a crossover fighting video game which is developed by SuperBot Entertainment in conjunction with SCE Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita video game consoles. PlayStation All-Stars was announced in April 2012 on an episode of GTTV. Omar Kendall, formerly a designer on the UFC series, the Backyard Wrestling franchise, and X-Men: Next Dimension, assumed the role of director for PlayStation All-Stars after joining SuperBot Entertainment. Game development began in 2009 with a creative team that included members from several Sony and former third party development teams. After three years of development and being delayed from its initial October 2012 release, the game was released in November 2012.

Gameplay
The gameplay is conceptually similar to the Super Smash Bros. series, in which up to four players can battle each other using characters from various Sony franchises such as God of War, PaRappa the Rapper and Sly Cooper, as well as third-party franchises like BioShock. There are, however, differences in how opponents are defeated. During the game, players damage other players to receive orbs that build up a power meter at the bottom of the screen (These orbs can also be found on the stage over the course of the match). Earning enough power allows players to use one of three levels of super moves which can be used to defeat opponents and earn points. The game will feature cross-platform play between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions.

The game features a traditional single-player arcade mode, in which players must defeat several randomly-selected opponents, followed by a character-specific rival battle and, ultimately, a battle against the game's main antagonist and Boss, Polygon Man. Multiplayer modes include time-based matches, where players compete to achieve the most kills within a time limit, stock based matches, where players attempt to be the last one standing, and kill-limit matches, where players compete to be the first to reach a certain number of kills. The game also features a single-player challenge mode, in which players attempt to complete specific objectives.

Stages and items
Along with the host of varying playable characters, All-Stars also comes with a range of items and levels influenced by various PlayStation franchises. The game features fourteen different arenas for battle, with elements in each one that can damage characters and cause them to lose AP. Each stage is based on a combination of two games, such as "Sandover Village" (based on Jak and Daxter and Hot Shots Golf), "Dreamscape" (based on LittleBigPlanet and Buzz!), "Stowaways" (based on Uncharted and BioShock Infinite) and "Hades" (based on God of War and Patapon). In addition, there are several item pick-ups that can be utilized by players, such as the Hedgehog Grenade from Resistance, the Gravity Shield from Wipeout and the Razor Claws from Ratchet & Clank. These items can be used to augment a player or do damage to an opponent.

Development
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was originally going to be developed by Naughty Dog who was in the middle of the development of The Last of Us. Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment therefore decided to form SuperBot Entertainment in 2009 specifically to work on the game. In early 2011, it was discovered that the independent studio based in California, SuperBot Entertainment, was working on an un-announced "combat heavy" multiplayer title for the PlayStation 3. In November 2011, images of the game (then codenamed as Title Fight) popped up online, showing Sweet Tooth from the Twisted Metal series and Kratos from God of War, who appeared in both Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny and the PS3 and PSVita versions of Mortal Kombat as a guest character. It was claimed the game features a number of Sony mascots such as Parappa the Rappa, Sly Cooper, Nathan Drake (Uncharted), Colonel Mael Radec (Killzone) and Fat Princess. Arenas include a Sandover Village stage (from Jak & Daxter), a Hot Shots Golf stage, a LittleBigPlanet stage and a Buzz! trivia mini-game.

SuperBot Entertainment was linked as developer of the game, who confirmed to be working on a "very amazing PS3 game" for Sony Computer Entertainment America. According to a job advert, SuperBot was after a senior combat designer with "a strong familiarity with fighting games and fighting game theory". Another job advert asked for a lead designer with "a strong familiarity with online mode and matchmaking design as they apply to console gaming". When Eurogamer contacted Sony to ask about the rumour that they were making a "PlayStation 3 exclusive Smash Bros. rival", Sony declined to comment stating "we do not comment on rumour or speculation".

In April 2012, it was revealed that the game is called PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. A Sony survey that asked gamers what they thought of the name of the game, and the game itself, was uncovered and published by PlayStation Lifestyle. The site claimed the PlayStation 3 exclusive will be announced at E3 in June. This was followed by Sony who registered the domain for www.playstationallstarsbattleroyale.com, alongside another domain registered by Sony for the shorter www.playstationallstars.com. On April 23, 2012, a tweet by the newly formed SuperBot Entertainment Twitter page said: "Boot sequence initiated." At the same time, GTTV promised to reveal a major new PlayStation exclusive on April 26. The game was revealed on April 26, 2012 episode of GTTV as PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

In May 2012, in an interview to Digital Trends, game director Omar Kendall was asked about the possibility of PlayStation Vita version of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, and he simply replied, "Maybe... stay tuned." Three weeks later, TheSixthAxis spotted that Sony had registered a few domains that also hinted that a Vita version may be released. A Vita version was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012, and will feature cross-play with the PlayStation 3. In July 2012, it was announced that former Capcom community manager and Evolution Championship Series co-founder Seth Killian had taken a role at Sony Santa Monica, where he would assist PlayStation All-Stars developer Superbot Entertainment.

In late July, files found in the beta version of the game pointed to an array of unannounced characters and stages in the game, including levels set in the worlds of Resistance, Uncharted 3, PaRappa the Rapper, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone, LocoRoco, BioShock Infinite and more. An array of character names were also uncovered inside the demo's files, including Devil May Cry's Dante, Evil Cole from Infamous, Raiden from Metal Gear Solid and more. A number of leaks uncovered the information, which started on Reddit. Resourceful users of the GameFAQs forums and NeoGAF each added more information, which also included a list of in-game items. SuperBot producer Chan Park later acknowledged the leak's legitimacy, though he noted that changes had been made since the beta build's development and that the leaked content did not fully reflect the content found within the final game. With the announcement of Nariko and Sir Daniel Fortesque on August 31, 2012, all characters found in the leaked file have been officially announced.

On August 13, 2012, SuperBot Entertainment announced that the game has been delayed by one month from its original October 2012 release to November 2012. Chan Park claimed that the delay "will let us spend more time polishing and tuning the game, and it will give us a chance to incorporate some of the great feedback we're receiving from the current limited beta to ensure we are creating the best possible fighting game experience."

Beta phases
On July 24, 2012, the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Developer Beta (PlayStation 3 version) was released for PlayStation Plus subscribers in Hong Kong and Singapore. The beta features the original 6 announced characters (Colonel Radec, Kratos, PaRappa, Fat Princess, Sly Cooper, and Sweet Tooth), playable in multiplayer matches. The developers are testing server loads and match making features. On July 27, 2012, selected North American PlayStation Network members received codes to download the beta.

In Europe, the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Public Beta began on September 11, 2012, across PlayStation 3 and Vita for a selected number of players who opted-in to receive codes on a specific PlayStation Network Beta sign-up page, and concluded on September 18.

A new beta launched in America on October 16, 2012, and in Europe one day later for PlayStation Plus members. The beta was open for everyone else the following week, October 23, and was originally set to end on October 30, but was extended until November 10. The beta was released to all PS Vita owners on October 16, 2012, even if the owner has a Plus subscription or not. The beta supports Cross-Play, so PlayStation 3 and PS Vita owners can play against each other. Sony said the beta will help SuperBot Entertainment load test the game's servers ahead of its release.

Release
Originally scheduled for a worldwide release in October 2012, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was delayed and is now scheduled to be released on November 20, 2012 in North America, November 21, 2012 in Europe, November 22, 2012 in Australia and New Zealand, November 23, 2012 in the UK and Ireland, and January 31, 2013 in Japan.

Marketing
On May 1, 2012, Sony announced the PlayStation Store Royale Contenders Sale – a PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale sale to celebrate the announcement of the game. The sale included discounts on titles such as God of War Collection, God of War: Origins Collection, Killzone 3 Multiplayer, and The Sly Collection. The sale began on May 2 and ran for one week.

Sony has collaborated with several retail outlets on a pre-order incentive. The pre-order bonus consists of a downloadable content pack, which includes an exclusive set of costumes for all of the game's playable characters.

At Gamescom 2012, Sony Computer Entertainment announced their new Cross-Buy program. PlayStation 3 copies of the game will include the PlayStation Vita version at no additional cost. PlayStation All-Stars, along with Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, are the first games announced for the program.

The song "Genesis" by Justice has been featured in several pieces of promotional material following the game's announcement. The game uses "Finale" by Madeon during the introductory cinematic.

Downloadable Content
On November 15, 2012, Killian announced that the first download characters for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Kat from Gravity Rush and Emmett Graves from Starhawk, were in development. The characters will be available for free during the first two weeks of their release in early 2013.