Mobile shooters used to be a novelty act—a nugatory fantasy scoffed at by both developers and mobile users. This is far from true today, but the genre still lags substantially behind PC or console shooters. Blitz Team is here to change that. The studio’s first release, Battle Prime, soft-launched in the Philippines on July 25th to a small but positive response.

The Blitz Engine

There are hundreds of mobile shooters available through the Apple and Google Play stores, but Battle Prime offers something different. Blitz Team founded the studio and conceptualized the game with one goal in mind: create a shooter that levels the playing field between mobile and traditional platforms. They accomplished this by building their own game engine: the Blitz Engine.

It’s no secret that genre goliaths use customized engines in order to give themselves maximum control over game development. But mobile shooters have historically used either Unreal or Unity engines as the framework for a game’s design. Bringing a gold mine of experience working with the likes of Big Fish Games and Electronic Arts, the members of Blitz Team knew that, in order to bring mobile shooters up to speed, they would need a new, state-of-the-art engine of their own design. Battle Prime is the result.

Gameplay

So, how does all of this translate to gameplay? Battle Prime is your standard third person shooter (first person when ADSing), but the graphics and mechanics feel like they’re a step above what’s currently available in the app store. Right now, there are four maps to rotate between, with a 6v6 Demolition being the only game mode available. This will change as they gear up for their global release, but it’s enough to give you a good sense of Battle Prime’s capabilities.

Overall, the game is almost Battlefield-esque, with a clean HUD and intuitive menus. They haven’t given fans much to latch onto, but the trailer offers some insight into the game’s look and feel, if nothing else. The developers also just launched their Discord server and Facebook page—actively looking for feedback before they go global.

What The Heck Are Primes?

Primes are simply universal avatars with unique abilities. There are three specialists to choose from in the early stages of the game: Shock, Vityaz, and Vision. Unlockable in that order, each come with their own loadout and specialist ability. Shock, for instance, spawns with an MK16 and an SMG-10, and his ability is a tactical grenade that temporarily blinds and disrupts the capabilities of targeted players (it’s basically a stun grenade).

Guns, attachments, health, and armor are upgraded by winning games and leveling up or by opening in-game supply crates. For each win, you get a certain number of credits, which can be used to make purchases.

How Much Is The Game?

The game is free to play, but there are subscription models and paid upgrades. IAPs will help you level up, unlock primes, and upgrade weapons at a much faster rate. As for the supply drops, the ones that you can unlock on your own usually just come with attachments. To unlock a crate that will help you expand your arsenal of weapons, you’ll have to pay. If you feel confident in your ability to win games, paying for upgrades is a waste of time considering how fast you can acquire credits and rank up on your own. 

Although Battle Prime is still a work in progress, you can already tell how much of a difference Blitz Team’s customized engine has made in terms of the game’s performance. Between the console-level graphics and polished gameplay, Blitz Team is taking a definitive step forward in the world of mobile shooters. Is there room to grow? Of course. Mobile shooters may never be able to compete with their PC or console counterparts, but Battle Prime is bridging the gap.

You’ll need a VPN to download Battle Prime ahead of the global launch.