Scramble Knights Online launched October 26 in Game Preview on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC as a day-one Game Pass title, but it began as a battle royale. Funktronic Labs rebuilt the game as a co-op action RPG with MMO-style progression after players enjoyed its world but pushed back on PvP, as the studio explains in its Xbox Wire launch-day account.
Originally called Scramble Knights Royale, the game paired top-down combat, quests, monster fights and dungeon loot with battle-royale PvP. Funktronic says its public playtest exposed a mismatch: players liked the setting and sense of adventure, but lobbies emptied as people objected to the PvP. Some said they would play without it, and one large streamer left after a few minutes.
The team tried other competitive modes, including Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch, but kept returning to the parts between fights. Founder Eddie Lee brought the developers back to the idea of going on adventures with friends. They chose to make that the focus instead of building another PvP mode.
Players now meet in Town Square, form groups for missions, take on quests and dungeons, then return with loot to craft or upgrade equipment. The new direction added enemies, NPCs, story, crafting and character progression, while leaving room to spend time with others in the shared kingdom.
Funktronic says the genre change took less than six months, reusing a world, combat system and art style the team had spent years building. The full project took nearly four years to reach this version. PvP also remains in the game as an invasion feature, alongside solo play and co-op for up to 4 players. Xbox Play Anywhere supports a single purchase across console, PC and supported gaming handhelds.
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