Chinese publisher NetEase has hired the writer of Japanese cult thriller Battle Royale as the head consultant on Knives Out.

Kenta Fukasaku wrote the screenplay for the 2000 film Battle Royale, based on a book by Koushun Takami released in 1999 which starred a group of school pupils forced to fight to the death and be the last one standing.

Battlye royale royalty

It’s a concept that has driven gaming’s hottest trend right now, with games like Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite dominating both the PC and mobile charts.

NetEase itself has developed successful battle royale titles for mobile including Rules of Survival and the aforementioned Knives Out. The latter is thought to have generated as much as $24 million a month.

MMO Culture reports that Kenta Fukasaku has joined the Chinese publisher to build up the story and lore for Knives Out. He is currently working on a new update for the game entitled Final Battle of Tokyo.

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