Some new sports titles enter the gaming space and surprise us with new ideas and features. Some games fail to hit the ground running and find their fanbase or target audience. However, in this case, Velan Studios’ Knockout City stood out with its dodgeball team-based multiplayer game this year. Knockout City wins our 2021 SGO’s Best new Franchise Award.
Knockout City was released in May 2021, and since its launch, the game has gained over 2 million players. While so many players are playing the game, Velan Studios has continued to develop more content for the game, such as its season 4 Alien Invasion event. However, Velan Studios dodgeball game shines the most with its fun and creative gameplay. The game has an ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ style, and it takes skill to win matches. I enjoy the variety of ways you can throw the ball, and knowing which way to throw it is half the battle; catching the ball and immediately throwing it back to complete a vicious counter takes good timing.
Best New Franchise
- Knockout City (38.5% of the vote)
- Riders Republic
- Legend Bowl
- RetroMaina Wrestling
Of course, Knockout City wasn’t the only game that wowed us with fresh ideas. Ubisoft’s Riders Republic was nominated for its fun, action-packed extreme racing. RetroMania Wrestling and Legend Bowl are excellent games with new features but still hold much inspiration from old-school games.
Hopefully, we will continue to see new sports titles flourish as Knockout City did this year. The game is out now on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox One. If you are interested in playing, all new players can play for free up to level 20.Â
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