[UPDATE April 12, 2020: Pong Circle has changed its official name due to trademark doubts and is now known as BALLS ROYALE.]
One of the original timeless video games, Pong, gets a Battle Royale update with Pong Circle on released by Atari in 1972, Pong has been updated numerous times over the decades, and even non-gamers can instantly pick up and play the game, which sees two players taking control of paddles and knocking a ball back and forth like a virtual air hockey or tennis simulation.
As tastes shifted to more complex games like Super Mario Bros. in the 80s, the Pong craze slowly died away, but it always kept coming back as effective counter programming to more technologically advanced games. Basically, as long as there are video games, it seems like there will always be a way to play some variation of Pong on them.
The latest incarnation of Pong might be its greatest version yet, and it's on new battle royale game which sees 50 players in a circle, defending their bases from an increasing array of oncoming balls. As players are eliminated, the circle shrinks smaller and smaller until the match culminates in a 1v1 showdown between the last two survivors. The game is currently only available on PC but the creator has stated multiple times that they would like to make console versions later.
Of course, it's not perfect, and early Steam reviews point out online lag, wonky physics, and a dearth of servers are currently keeping Pong Circle from reaching its full potential. When the online aspect of the game is working, players have reported it takes a long time to find a game, and the servers are said to have gone down repeatedly, potentially due to high demand. Fortunately, the game can be played solo with bots, but a battle royale game without multiplayer is obviously lacking a key feature. Nevertheless, if Meaty Ore Games can improve the game and its online infrastructure, there's a strong possibility for Pong Circle to become the latest indie sensation to arrive on Steam.
Like Tetris 99 before it, Pong Circle is so simple, so pure, and so perfect of an idea, it's astounding it's taken this long for someone to implement it. Best of all, the game only costs $2.00, and it's currently enjoying a 10% off sale until April 15. For anyone looking to take a chance and try out a new game, Pong Circle seems to have all the makings of a sleeper hit... if it can keep its servers up.