Funktronic Labs has launched Scramble Knights Online on October 26, 2026, bringing its cooperative action RPG to Xbox Series X|S and PC, with day-one availability through Xbox Game Pass. The game arrives in Game Preview and Early Access after a significant development overhaul that transformed it from a competitive battle royale into an MMO-lite adventure focused on exploration, cooperative quests and character progression.
In an October 26 Xbox Wire article, Funktronic Labs marketing director Nikko Koruna explained how public playtest feedback convinced the studio to abandon the original concept, previously known as Scramble Knights Royale. The team had spent approximately three years developing the competitive version before deciding that its strongest features worked better outside the battle royale format.
Scramble Knights Royale originally combined top-down fantasy combat, dungeon exploration and monster encounters with player-versus-player competition. However, early public testing revealed a problem: players enjoyed exploring the world and completing adventures but frequently expressed frustration with the competitive elements.
According to Koruna, some players explicitly wanted the experience without PvP, while matchmaking lobbies struggled to retain participants. The development team initially attempted to address these problems and experimented with alternative competitive modes, including Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch.
Those experiments eventually led the studio toward a different approach. Rather than centering the experience on eliminating other players, Funktronic Labs decided to build around cooperative adventuring.
The redesigned game retains the original project’s fantasy setting, visual style and combat foundations while introducing MMO-style progression, crafting, expanded enemy encounters and cooperative dungeons. Koruna said the developers completed the genre transition in less than six months, following years of work on the original concept.
Scramble Knights Online takes place in Terracott, a shared online kingdom where players explore an archipelago of towns, dangerous environments and puzzle-filled dungeons. Players begin as knights-in-training and can complete quests alone or alongside up to three friends.
The core gameplay revolves around accepting missions, venturing into the world, defeating enemies and returning to the Town Square with collected rewards. Players can use crafting materials and loot to forge weapons, create armor and improve equipment before undertaking more challenging adventures.
Combat retains the original game’s top-down perspective, with different weapons and abilities available for fighting monsters and dungeon bosses. Enemies include electric slimes, rock-throwing crabs and larger creatures requiring coordinated attacks.
The Town Square serves as a social hub where players can meet other adventurers, form groups, upgrade equipment and participate in activities such as fishing. Although cooperative PvE is now the main focus, PvP has not been eliminated entirely. Players can still encounter rival groups and compete over resources.
The game also features a spectator mechanic that transforms defeated players into chickens, allowing them to watch their surviving teammates continue an adventure.
Scramble Knights Online launches with its introductory 1-Star area accessible, offering approximately five hours of unique content. Funktronic Labs plans to expand the experience throughout Early Access, with additional quest tiers and areas intended for the eventual full release.
In its October 21 Steam announcement, the developer said the game supports cross-platform multiplayer and four-player parties. The PC version launches at $12.99, with regional pricing differences, and does not include microtransactions at release.
The game is available through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, including support for Xbox Series X|S, PC and cloud gaming. It also supports Xbox Play Anywhere, allowing a purchased digital copy to be accessed across compatible Xbox and Windows devices.
Its release joins the wider selection of October 2026 Xbox Game Pass additions, which includes several other new releases and established titles.
As an Early Access and Game Preview release, Scramble Knights Online remains under development. Funktronic Labs has indicated that player feedback will continue shaping future content, with its first major update planned for winter 2026–2027 after initial launch issues are addressed.
