Knockout City dips, dives and dodges its way into 5 million players

I'm not sure anyone was expecting dodgeball brawl 'em up Knockout City to be a hit. But here we are, 5 million players later, just days after hearing that EA plans to keep the ball rolling with a permanently expanded free trial. 

EA broke the milestone news in a new blog post, sharing that Knockout City hit the 5 million milestone 2 weeks after release, and a mere 10 days after crossing the 2 million mark. While not detailing specifics, the post also notes that over half a billion knockouts have been scored, while the game has been streamed for "millions" of hours.

That's not too shabby for a game that looked dangerously close to going the way of Rocket Arena. But between crossplay at launch and a 10-day free trial, EA seemed set on giving Knockout City the best chance at sticking around. While there was worry that the playerbase could tank when those 10 days were up, EA last week indefinitely extended the game's free trial. Now, you'll be able to play up to Rank 25 before being asked to pay up.

All that in mind, it sounds like Knockout City will be sticking around for some time. Good stuff, too, considering Morgan called the 3v3 dodgebrawler one of this year's best games so far in our Knockout City review.

"I'm endlessly impressed with how much careful consideration has gone into turning a playground pastime mostly ignored by videogames into a rich competitive romp. There's nothing quite like it, which is why you should really give it a shot for free while you can."