Battle Royale: The Cultural Formula of the Gamification Era. A Study of the Rules of the Game

Wojciech Sitek

wojciech.sitek@us.edu.pl
University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4550-7679

Abstract

The author analyses the evolution of battle royale as a cultural formula in the context of the economic and social transformations over the past quarter-century. The article outlines its historical development, identifies key characteristics, and examines the meanings concealed under the guise of transparency of the formula. Introduced to global audiences by Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale, this narrative model has in recent years been absorbed by the entertainment industry and subordinated to the logic of the gamification of everyday life. Contemporary films (Circle, The Belko Experiment), TV series (Alice in Borderland, Squid Game), and video games (Fortnite, Apex Legends) not only reflect neoliberal values but also normalise them. Drawing on the observations of Mark Fisher and Shoshana Zuboff, the author argues that while the battle royale cultural formula appears to take a critical stance, it actually reinforces the power of surveillance capitalism.



Keywords:

battle royale, gamification, surveillance capitalism

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Published
2025-07-02

Cited by

Sitek, W. (2025) “Battle Royale: The Cultural Formula of the Gamification Era. A Study of the Rules of the Game”, Kwartalnik Filmowy, (130), pp. 29–52. doi: 10.36744/kf.4356.

Authors

Wojciech Sitek 
wojciech.sitek@us.edu.pl
University of Silesia in Katowice Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4550-7679

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Culture Studies, University of Silesia in Katowice. A cultural and film scholar from the Pirate Bay. A fan of popular culture, he is interested in the ideological background of American cinema and video games. He is researching grassroots fan initiatives: the social phenomena of videocassettes and off-market culture. Author of the book Żegnaj, Ameryko. Mitologia późnego kapitalizmu w filmach Michaela Manna [Goodbye, America: The Mythology of Late Capitalism in Michael Mann’s Films] (2024).



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