When you see a new Worms game, you generally know what you’re getting: teams of worms taking turns using all manner of increasingly absurd weapons to wipe each other off the map. Add updated 3D graphics, new grenades, maybe another mode or two, sure – but so far Worms has stayed fairly close to its established formula. Well, no longer: Team17 has announced Worms Rumble, a 32-player battle royale version of Worms that ditches the turn-based format for a real time, Smash Bros-style brawl.
“Worms Rumble is unlike anything we have ever done with a Worms game before,” Team17 says in its announcement. And indeed it is – Worms Rumble features real-time combat, 32-player online matches with cross-play between PC and PlayStation 4 and 5, with battle royale and deathmatch modes available.
The trailer below shows off what Worms fans have to look forward to: the same crazy Worms action, all happening at the same time across a sprawling mall map. And while purists will undoubtedly turn up their noses at the decision to make it real-time, it’s hard to deny that this looks like a lot of fun.
Here’s the trailer:
Worms Rumble is due out later this year, but a multiplayer beta on Steam is set to kick off July 15. You can sign up to participate by following this link to register your name for a chance to get in and play it early.
The beta will begin July 15 at 12:00 BST / 13:00 CEST / 7:00 EDT / 4:00 PDT. It’ll run through July 20.
Who knows? Perhaps Worms Rumble will make its way onto the list of 2020’s best multiplayer games on PC.