Brawl Stars is a multiplayer online battle arena[1] and hero shooter[2] video game developed and published by Finnish video game company Supercell.[3] The game was released worldwide on 12 December 2018, on iOS and Android platforms. The game features a variety of game modes, each with a distinctive objective. Players are able to choose from a large selection of unlockable characters, called "Brawlers", who each have different abilities and playstyles.[4][5][unreliable source?]
Screenshot of gameplay from the map "Snake Prairie" on the game mode "Bounty"
In Brawl Stars, players battle against other players, AI opponents, or PvE bosses in multiple game modes. Players can choose between different Brawlers, who can be unlocked through the Starr Road or purchased through the Shop to use in battles.[6] In December 2022, a new progressive unlock system called the "Starr Road" replaced Boxes as the main method to unlock Brawlers.[7][unreliable source?] The cost to unlock each Brawler on the Starr Road depends on its rarity.[8][unreliable source?]
During a match, players can use their Brawler's normal attack or their Super, a special attack that charges up through damaging opponents or in some cases through additional means. Players can also equip their Brawlers with power-ups known as Gadgets, Star Powers, Gears, and Hypercharges; Gadgets and Hypercharges can be activated during a match,[9][10] while Star Powers and Gears are passive abilities.[11][12] Each Brawler has their own set of Gadgets and Star Powers with the vast majority also having a Hypercharge.
Unlockables
Gadgets
Gadgets are active abilities that boost a brawlers Attack or give them new movesets. They are activated by pressing a button and they have a cooldown ranging from 7-30 seconds. They can be bought for 1000 coins or be obtained from Starr Drops and they need a Power Level 7 Brawler to be equipped.[13]
Star Powers
Star powers are passive abilities that affect a Brawler's attack, defense or utility. They have no pressable button in-game and are always active unlike Gadgets and Hypercharges. They are unlocked at Power Level 9 and can be bought for 2000 coins or obtained from Starr Drops.[14]
Hypercharges
Hypercharges are active abilities ,that when activated using a button, boost your Brawler's stats and their Super for 5 seconds. They are unlocked at Power Level 11, the highest level in the game and can be bought for 5000 coins or can be obtained from Drops.[15]
Buffies
Buffies boost a Brawler's Gadgets, Star Powers or Hypercharge. When boosting a Gadget, the gadget usually gains an extra ability such as the ability to slow enemies or be aimed like a main attack or a Super. When boosting a Star Power, it strengthens the passive ability even more. When boosting a Hypercharge, the duration is increased from 5 seconds to 7 seconds and the Hypercharge also buffs the main attack of a Brawler as well as their Super. Buffies can be unlocked from the Brawl Pass, Chaos Drops or you can obtain a random Buffie from a pool of 18 Buffies for 1000 coins and 2000 Power Points from a special Claw Machine.[16]
Game Modes
Brawl Stars has a variety of different permanent and temporary game modes that players can choose from, each having different objectives and maps. Players can invite friends to play with them while staying under the maximum team size of the game mode. Most modes involve two teams with three players each, other modes can involve either five or two player teams.[17][unreliable source?][18]
Brawl Ball: A soccer game mode where two teams of three (or 5 for 5v5 Brawl Ball ) players attempt to score points by shooting a ball into the opponents' goal. The game ends if one team scores two points, or if one team has a point advantage after two minutes, or overtime. Other variants of this game mode were added later, modeled after different sports such as basketball, volleyball, and ice hockey.[23][unreliable source?][22]
Gem Grab: Gems spawn in the middle of the map, and two teams of either three or five Brawlers (or 4 teams in case of Trio Gem Grab) must collect the highest number of Gems possible. A team wins if they collect and hold at least ten Gems for 15 seconds. If both teams have ten or more Gems, the countdown is active, and the teams are tied in Gems collected, the timer pauses. It restarts once a team takes the lead again.[24][unreliable source?][22]
Wipeout and Bounty: Deathmatch game modes. In Wipeout, two teams of either three or five (four teams in case of Trio Wipeout) must defeat 10 or 20 enemy Brawlers. In Bounty, teams must earn 20 points by defeating Brawlers, who become worth more points for each kill, with a blue star deciding the draw from overtime.[22][25][unreliable source?][26][unreliable source?][27][unreliable source?]
Heist: Two teams of three Brawlers each attempt to destroy the opponents' highly durable safe located near their spawn point, before the enemy team can destroy their own safe.[28][unreliable source?][22] The safe gains a temporary after reaching a certain amount of damage, pushing enemy Brawlers away.
Hot Zone: A king of the hill game mode. Two teams of three Brawlers each must stay in all Hot Zones for a combined total of 100 seconds. The match ends if this requirement is met or one team had stayed in the Hot Zones longer than the other throughout the time limit. A 2v2 version of the mode was added later during special events.[29][unreliable source?][22]
Knockout: A deathmatch game mode where players cannot respawn and rounds are won by defeating the entire enemy team. The first team to win two rounds wins the game. A variation with five Brawlers is unique in that each elimination causes the remaining teammates to gain extra damage and health.[30][unreliable source?][22]
Duels: A game mode involving two players playing against each other. Each player assembles a team of three Brawlers; after one of the players' Brawlers is defeated, the player plays the next. The goal is to defeat all three of the opponents' Brawlers while not losing your brawlers in the process.[22][31][unreliable source?]
Brawl Arena: Added in the April 2025 update, two teams of three Brawlers try to destroy enemy turrets to win, while fighting enemy minions to level up and increase there stats.[32]
Mega Pig: Players can join clubs or create them[33] to participate in Mega Pig, an event that occurs around once a month over a weekend. Each win adds to a club's points, which increases the Starr Drops they get at the end of the event,[34] with a mega Tree event during Christmas.[35] Each player has 6 tickets they can use to play games, each game costing one. Once a player runs out of tickets, they can't contribute to the pig anymore (unless they help someone else in their club win games). On certain occasions such as collaborations, the Mega Pig may be modified in a different theme with event-specific rewards.[34]
Map Maker: A mode where players can freely create maps and may apply custom modifiers to various modes in the game. Players can submit their maps into candidates of the day, allowing for a selection of random player-submitted maps to be played by other players, who can give the map a like or dislike, increasing or decreasing their chance of being selected. The map with the most likes becomes the 'winner of the day' the next day. It is featured in a second Map Maker slot available for all players to play for a day.[36]
Brawl Pass
On 14 May 2020, a game update added a new reward system called the “Brawl Pass”.[37] The Brawl Pass is the game's version of a battle pass. When players compete in battles, they earn XP (formerly known as Tokens) to progress along the Brawl Pass and unlock tiers with various rewards. All players have the free Brawl Pass by default. Players could purchase the premium Brawl Pass with Gems, until 4 January 2024, where the pass and its newly introduced Brawl Pass Plus variant could only be bought with real money.[38][39]
Ranked
In Ranked, formerly called Power League, a random 3v3 game mode and map are chosen. Winning a game increases Points and gives Pro Pass XP, and Point thresholds increase a player's rank. As a player breaks through certain Point thresholds, 200 Pro Pass XP is obtained, which can give the player unique cosmetic items, Starr drops or skins. A list of the ranks as of February 2025 from lowest to highest is Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Mythic, Legendary, Masters, and Pro. 12 Brawlers at Power Level 11 are required to pass into Mythic from Diamond.[40]
Pro Pass
The Pro Pass in Brawl Stars is a ranked pass that resets every 4 seasons to link with major Esports events. It offers a structured rewards system across 100 tiers, featuring both free and paid tracks. One of the most notable rewards is the Pro Skin Upgrade, which enhances an existing skin with exclusive Ranked-themed effects such as new animations,visual effects, and upgraded textures. Players earn four Pro Skin Upgrades throughout the Pro Pass at tiers 10, 30, 60, and 100, but these must be unlocked during the active season.[41]
In addition to skin upgrades, the Pro Pass provides a variety of rewards, including Hypercharge Drops , Ranked Drops, and Starr Drops . Players can also collect Gems on the free track, while the paid track offers an additional Gems, along with exclusive cosmetics like Pins, Sprays, and Player Icons. These rewards encourage Ranked Mode participation and provide players with valuable in-game items to enhance their experience.[41]
Players can earn Pro Pass XP in Brawl Stars by participating in Ranked Mode and official events. The primary way to gain XP is by winning Ranked Matches. Additionally, Rank Promotions provide an XP bonus once per month, helping players to progress faster. XP can also be obtained from Ranked Starr Drops, and by participating in official Brawl Stars events.[41] Watching E-sports tournaments and participating in "Pick-ems" on the official website, people can earn extra Pro Pass XP.
Resources
Players can upgrade Brawlers' stats using Coins and Power Points. Coins are additionally used for buying Brawler-specific upgrades such as Gadgets, Star Powers and Hypercharges. Credits are used to unlock Brawlers, XP Doublers (formerly Token Doublers) are used to speed up progress through the Brawl Pass, and Bling is used to buy most cosmetics, which was added on April 2023, replacing Star Points.[42][43]
Gems are used to top off any currency that the player does not have enough of, as well as certain cosmetics exclusively available for gems.[44] Gems are available for free, but the main way of obtaining them is through money. Winning matches with Brawlers and doing certain challenges progresses their record level, which can unlock Brawler cosmetics and progression items (Power Points, Coins, Titles, and Credits).[45]
Starr Road
The Starr Road was introduced as the method of unlocking Brawlers, after the removal of Boxes in December 2022.[7][unreliable source?] Players can select a Brawler from a selection of up to four from the same rarity (from a choice of either Epic, Mythic, or Legendary) to initiate the unlocking process. Progress is made through Credits, a currency obtained in the Trophy Road, Mastery paths, Starr Drops and Brawl Pass. Players can switch to a different Brawler they wish to unlock at any time, with the accumulated credits transitioning to the new selection.[46]
Once a Brawler is unlocked, it becomes a permanent addition to the player's collection. The Starr Road then presents a new selection of Brawlers from the next rarity tier to unlock. Alternatively, players have the option to acquire Brawlers from the Starr Road using Gems.[46]
Until 29 February 2024, the Chromatic Shop allowed players to unlock certain Brawlers through Chroma Credits, a currency obtainable through the Brawl Pass and used exclusively for unlocking Brawlers who debuted as part of a Brawl Pass. Alternatively, Gems could be used to purchase the Chromatics.[47]
Rare and Super are brawlers are unlocked through the Trophy road after reaching certain Trophy counts as opposed to using the Starr Road.[48]
Cosmetics
Brawl Stars has a variety of cosmetics. Skins change a brawler's model and animations,[49] and may come with pins for in-game communication, player icons (profile pictures) and sprays.[50] Some cosmetic items are exclusive or limited edition.[49]
Brawlers
As of December 20, 2025, Brawl Stars has 98 brawlers, and 7 classes. These classes are Damage Dealers, Marksmen, Tanks, Assassins, Supports, Controllers, and Artillery.[51]
Setting
Brawl Stars takes place in a fictional abandoned amusement park named Starr Park. Initially introduced in a live-action short film,[52] in-game surveillance footage showed that Starr Park closed in 1995 due to magic purple gems that granted several staff and visitors in Starr Park immortality, but in the ensuing chaos, gave life to inanimate objects and mutated plant life and animals.[53]
Development and release
Supercell set out to develop a team-based game similar to League of Legends and Overwatch. The team wanted to create such a game that was designed with mobile devices in mind first. According to Frank Keienburg, General Manager of Supercell, "Our focus was on retaining a lot of depth while stripping away all the fluff".[54] Although the game contains some elements of the battle royale genre, these were implemented before the genre as a whole took off and the team did not set out to make a game with those elements.[55]
The game is notable for its long soft launch period during which virtually every aspect of the game changed.[56] Supercell officially announced the game via a livestream video on 14 June 2017.[57][unreliable source?] It received an iOS soft launch in Canada the following day.[58] The soft launch would last a total of 522 days, during which internally it was doubted whether or not the game would ever actually see a general release.[55][54] Initially, the game was played in portrait mode and the movement controls were controlled by tapping on the screen. Eventually, landscape mode and joysticks were implemented.[55][54] Other changes include changing the UI, changing the metagame and transitioning the game from 2D to 3D.[54] Frank Keienburg attributes the difficult beta period to the developers working in a new genre where they "weren't sure how to interpret its success".[55] The game soft-launched in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao and Malaysia for iOS on 19 January 2018.[citation needed]
Brawl Stars was made globally and officially available on 12 December 2018,[1] grossing over US$63 million in its first month.[59] On 9 June 2020, Brawl Stars was released in mainland China, with the corresponding changes to accommodate to Chinese regulations by Tencent Games.[60]
Brawl Stars Championship
The Brawl Stars Championship is an annual tournament, composed of a qualifying stage, available in-game, another Monthly Qualifier stage, a Regional Monthly Finals stage, and finally a World Finals stage, in which the best teams compete to win the Championship. The first in-game challenge is similar to other challenges: the players must win 15 matches in the in-game challenge without losing three times. After 15 wins, a regional Monthly Qualifier stage is created, giving access to the regional Monthly Finals.[61] These events lead to the World Finals.[62][unreliable source?][63]
In 2020, the World Finals were held between 21 and 22 November with a base $1,000,000 prize pool. Half of the amount was raised using the profits from an in-game championship package. Eight teams participated in the World Finals, which were originally to take place in Katowice, Poland, but were moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PSG Esports was the winner of that year's championship with a prize of $200,000. The other monetary prizes were split between the teams which won second to eighth place.[65]
In 2021, the Brawl Stars Championship started on 20 February. There are eight seasons for the championship that occur once per month, from February to September. The Championship Challenges and Monthly Qualifiers are each live for two days per season. The top eight teams from the regional Monthly Qualifiers go to the regional Monthly Finals. Sixteen teams from the Monthly Finals from all seven regions come together to participate in the World Finals, which took place in that year's edition from 26 to 28 November in-person in Bucharest, Romania. The prizes for 2021 were $600,000 in the Monthly Finals, and a minimum of $500,000 in the World Finals with opportunities to increase this amount through in-game offers.[63]
In 2024, the World Finals were held in conjunction with the Clash Royale League World Finals and the Clash of Clans World Championship in Helsinki, Finland during Superfest, an event developed by Supercell encompassing the before mentioned tournaments.[66][67][unreliable source?] The 2024 edition reached a peak viewership of over a million viewers with team HMBLE taking first place.[68]
Pocket Gamer's Harry Slater scored the game 3 out of 5. Reviewing the game immediately after global release, he praised that game's progression. He criticized Showdown, the game's battle royale mode, for being the weakest of all the game modes that were in the game. He said that Showdown "doesn't capture the real madness of the genre, and there's a distinct lack of tension since you can pretty much see everyone on the map and what they're up to". He mentioned that something felt "missing in Brawl Stars. You'll play, you'll get new characters, you'll unlock new modes, but you're never having quite as much fun as you feel you should be doing." He continued on to say that "the action is relatively flat - in the team matches you know within the first few seconds which way the game is going." He concluded in disappointment because the game did not seem like "the huge step forward for multiplayer mobile action that a lot of us were hoping for."[70]
148 Apps' Campbell Bird scored the game 3.5 out of 5. She started with mentioning that the game felt "like a combination of Arena of Valor and Overwatch." She praised the game's graphics and the developer's implementation of the progression system to encourage players to play again, as well as the quick matchmaking. However, she criticized the game's controls for feeling "oddly loose and muddy". the characters falling "into pretty predictable hero shooter archetypes", as well as claiming that "every mode in the game is some variation on something you’ve seen before in other, better multiplayer shooters." She also highlighted that the frequent connection issues and unbalanced teams made the experience of playing the game less enjoyable.[71]
Eurogamer writer Christian Donlan wrote that the gameplay is easy to pick up (even for players of low skill). He also wrote that Battle Royales are all about preying on opponents and with health bars always being visible to everyone, it becomes even more crucial.[73]
Commercial reception
Brawl Stars has been downloaded over 400 million times. In 2020, Brawl Stars had the second highest gross of any mobile game in Europe.[74] It grossed US$526 million in total in 2020, which accounted for more than half its life time revenue. It was also the fourth game by Supercell to surpass US$1 billion in lifetime revenue.[75]
Playable characters
Brawl Stars features a diverse roster of playable characters, known as "Brawlers". Like other Supercell titles, each Brawler possesses unique mechanics, health points (HP), and damage capabilities that scale as they progress from Power Level 1 to Power Level 11.[76]
List of Brawlers and base-to-max statistics
Brawler
Health (Lvl 1)
Health (Lvl 11)
Damage (Lvl 1)
Damage (Lvl 11)
Attack Notes
Shelly
3,800
7,600
300
600
Per shell (5 shells per blast at close range)
Nita
4,000
8,000
860
1,720
Per shockwave
Colt
2,800
5,600
360
720
Per bullet (6 bullets per burst)
Bull
5,000
10,000
480
960
Per shell (5 shells per blast at close range)
Brock
2,600
5,200
1,100
2,200
Per rocket
El Primo
6,000
12,000
360
720
Per punch (4 punches per attack)
Barley
2,400
4,800
800
1,600
Per bottle (impact and splash damage)
Poco
4,200
8,400
700
1,400
Per sound wave
Rosa
5,200
10,400
480
960
Per punch (3 punches per attack)
Jessie
3,000
6,000
1,060
2,120
Per energy bolt
Dynamike
2,800
5,600
800
1,600
Per stick of dynamite (throws 2)
Tick
2,200
4,400
680
1,360
Per mine (throws 3)
8-Bit
4,500
9,000
320
640
Per laser beam (6 beams per burst)
Rico
2,800
5,600
320
640
Per bouncy ball (5 balls per burst)
Darryl
5,000
10,000
240
480
Per shell (10 shells per double blast)
Penny
3,200
6,400
940
1,880
Per gold bag
Carl
4,200
8,400
680
1,360
Per pickaxe hit (forward and return)
Jacky
5,000
10,000
1,200
2,400
Per groundbreaker blast
Gus
3,300
6,600
980
1,960
Per balloon hit
Bo
3,600
7,200
580
1,160
Per arrow (3 arrows per shot)
Emz
3,600
7,200
500
1,000
Per spray tick (up to 3 ticks)
Stu
2,900
5,800
580
1,160
Per pyrotechnic (2 per shot)
Piper
2,400
4,800
1,700
3,400
Max damage at long range
Pam
4,800
9,600
180
360
Per scrap metal (9 pieces per burst)
Frank
7,000
14,000
1,240
2,480
Per hammer hit
Bibi
4,200
8,400
1,400
2,800
Per bat swing
Bea
2,400
4,800
800
1,600
Standard shot (Supercharged: 2,200/4,400)
Nani
2,400
4,800
700
1,400
Per light orb (3 orbs per shot)
Edgar
3,000
6,000
540
1,080
Per punch (2 punches per attack)
Griff
3,400
6,800
320
640
Per coin (9 coins per burst)
Grom
2,800
5,600
1,100
2,200
Per bud bomb
Bonnie
3,400
6,800
520
1,040
Cannon form (Clyde)
Mortis
3,800
7,600
900
1,800
Per shovel swing
Tara
3,000
6,000
480
960
Per card (3 cards per throw)
Gene
3,600
7,200
1,000
2,000
Per smoke blast
Max
3,200
6,400
250
500
Per bolt (4 bolts per burst)
Mr. P
3,100
6,200
720
1,440
Per suitcase hit/bounce
Sprout
3,000
6,000
970
1,940
Per seed bomb
Byron
2,400
4,800
340
680
Per tick (3 damage ticks over time)
Squeak
3,600
7,200
1,000
2,000
Per sticky bomb
Spike
2,400
4,800
560
1,120
Per spike (cactus grenade explodes into 6 spikes)
Crow
2,400
4,800
320
640
Per dagger (3 daggers per throw)
Leon
3,200
6,400
480
960
Max damage at close range (4 blades per throw)
Sandy
3,800
7,600
920
1,840
Per sand blast
Amber
3,000
6,000
200
400
Per flame
Meg
2,300
4,600
300
600
Normal form (dual blasters)
Gale
3,600
7,200
280
560
Per snowball (6 snowballs per blast)
Surge
2,900
5,800
1,180
2,360
Per juice shot
Colette
3,200
6,400
N/A
N/A
Deals 37% of enemy's current health
Lou
3,100
6,200
400
800
Per snow cone (3 cones per shot)
Ruffs
2,800
5,600
560
1,120
Per laser (2 lasers per shot)
Buzz
4,200
8,400
420
840
Per hit (5 hits per attack)
Ash
5,200
10,400
800
1,600
Per shockwave strike
Lola
3,800
7,600
270
540
Per diamond (6 diamonds per burst)
Fang
4,500
9,000
1,400
2,800
Per kick
Eve
2,900
5,800
500
1,000
Largest egg damage (throws 3 different sized eggs)
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