Fortnite
Fortnite
Fortnite’s short (and frustrating) history in esports
Olivia Richman
Since its release in 2017, Fortnite has taken the video game scene by storm. It has consistently stood as the most-watched game on Twitch, with big-name streamers like Turner “Tfue” Tenney and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins keeping the battle royale in the spotlight. While Fortnite has dominated gaming culture for years at this point, the game has had a less-than-stellar start to its time as an esport. With insanely large prize …
Fortnite
Bugha and more form Fortnite Professional Players Association
Olivia Richman
Sixteen professional Fortnite players from North America and Europe have united to form the Fortnite Profesional Players’ Association, in hopes of better reaching out to Fortnite developer Epic Games. The collective of Fortnite competitors have come together with the goal of providing a formal platform through which their voices can be heard. According to the official announcement, the FPPA want to express their thoughts and concerns about the battle royale’s …
Fortnite
FaZe Clan files to dismiss Tfue’s case, explains New York countersuit
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
The legal battle between Turner “Tfue” Tenney and FaZe Clan continues. FaZe has reportedly filed to dismiss Tfue’s lawsuit from Californian courts in an attempt to move the case to New York. According to Dexerto’s Richard Lewis, Tfue’s contract states that any legal disputes between the player and organization must be settled in New York Courts. This comes after FaZe Clan filed a countersuit in New York federal court in …
Fortnite
Fortnite patch v10.40.1 brings Out of Time, Flint-Knock Pistol
Olivia Richman
Although many in the Fortnite community have been impatiently waiting for Season X to end, the most recent patch notes revealed that the unpopular season will be extended by a further week. “We may be almost out of time, but we’re not out just yet,” announced Epic. According to Patch v10.40.1, Season X will now end on October 13 to give their new challenge some time in the spotlight. …
Fortnite
MackWood joins TSM after Season X trios win with ZexRow
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Mack “MackWood” Aesoph is joining Team SoloMid as the esports organization’s newest Fortnite player. TSM has announced MackWood’s joining on September 23, just a day after he took the trophy at NA East Fortnite Championship Series Season X, a trios tournament in which he played together with Anthony “ZexRow” Colandro and Jonathan “yung calculator” Weber. ZexRow has been a part of TSM’s Fortnite division since late 2018, but yung calculator …
Fortnite
Fortnite celebrates Batman’s 80th birthday with event, new skins
Fariha Bhatti
In honor of the character’s 80th birthday, Epic Games is treating fans to a massive Batman event in Fortnite. Players looking to visit Tilted Towers between now and October 6 will instead land in Gotham City. A familiar location for fans of the movies, games, and comics alike, those fond of the Caped Crusader will feel a sense of familiarity in the new cityscape. The area has a darker look …
Fortnite
TSM Fortnite streamer Daequan shares personal struggles on video
William Davis
Team SoloMid Fortnite streamer Daequan “Daequan” Loco posted a video explaining his absence from Twitch. The content creator has become significantly less active on social media than he previously was, and detailed why in a 20-minute-long video on YouTube. The reasons are unfortunately numerous. He opened up that in the past couple of months, he had lost family members to illness as well as some friends to gun violence. Unfortunately, his real-life …
Fortnite
Fortnite viewership crashes without Tfue, Ninja on Twitch
Steven Rondina
The landscape of Twitch streaming is starting to shift in a surprising way. Long the most popular game on the platform, Fortnite has seen a profound dip in popularity over recent weeks. The statistics highlight how tumultuous the last few months have been for the game, and the awkward position the game currently finds itself in. As discussed by The Gamer, Fortnite’s average viewership has dropped to its lowest point …
Tfue taking a mental health break from streaming
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
One of the most popular Fortnite streamers and pro players, Turner “Tfue” Tenney, is taking a break from streaming for the sake of his mental health. Fortnite star Tfue is taking time off live streaming and has shared that information with his fans over Twitter. He added that he has been unhappy lately even though he has everything that he needs in his life, but that he has still been …
Fortnite patch 10.30 brings change to Moisty Palms, Greasy Groves
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite v10.30 has changed the battle royale’s map once again. This time, the update brings two new rift zones. Moisty Palms and Greasy Grove were fan favorites that Epic is bringing back for Season X. Moisty Mire, the swampy area in the southeast of the map, was removed in Season 5. Its replacement, Paradise Palms, became a favorite landing spot for competitive and casual players alike. Moisty Palms hasn’t come …
Ninja calls out haters who want him to stop playing World of Warcraft
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins had a little fun at the expense of his haters in a recent stream. While playing World of Warcraft Classic with Tim “TimTheTatman” Betar, Ninja entertained his viewers by pretending to be a news correspondent. Complete with helicoptor noises, Ninja began to lightheartedly mock some of his fans who don’t seem happy with his recent WoW content, also known as “asshat haters.” “As you can see, …
Tfue possibly facing permaban on Twitch after racist language
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
Turner “Tfue” Tenney is in big trouble. The embattled Fortnite esports star used a racial epithet during a Twitch stream. He was playing a game of Minecraft, battling a group of pillagers when he said it. “You guys fucking killed all the villagers, man,” he said. “Y’all motherfuckers killed them n—–s. You can suck my pee pee, man.” This stands as a clear violation of Twitch’s community guidelines against “hateful …
Tfue runs into hacker as cheating in Fortnite remains a problem
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
A hacker more than frustrated Fortnite pro Turner “Tfue” Tenney during a recent stream. During a live stream, Tfue was trekking through Dusty Depot when a player shot him multiple times. Two of the four shots were headshots which landed before Tfue could even respond. Tfue immediately suspected his opponent of cheating, based on the accuracy at such a far distance. Wanting to confirm his suspicions, Tfue began to specate …
Nick Eh 30 to stream exclusively on Twitch following Ninja exit
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
One of the most popular Fortnite YouTube content creators, Nick “Nick Eh 30” Amyoony, has been signed to stream exclusively on Twitch beginning in September. Starting a new chapter as a full-time streamer on Twitch, Nick is looking to move his 4.6 million YouTube subscribers to his new channel on the popular live streaming platform. To support him, Twitch is offering loyalty badges for free to Nick’s fans that have …
Ninja speaks to kids complaining about ping in Fortnite
William Davis
Fortnite
Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins had some words for the kids complaining about ping. Ninja posted a clip on Twitter, as in the middle of a game Ninja found a spot to hide and let the audience know his opinion about the kids complaining about ping in Fortnite. “Listen, every single 13 years-old to 18 years-old that is complaining and tweeting about ping. The fact that you even get a …
FaZe Clan player Sway accused of teaming during Fortnite Solo Cash Cup
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
FaZe Clan Fortnite player Josue “Sway” has been accused of cheating during the Solo Cash Cup event. Another player using the handle Sour took to Twitter with a clip accusing Sway of teaming up with another player named Wistles during a Solo Cash Cup match on August 28. The clip shows Sway joining in on a fight between Wistles and Sour, helping Wistles eliminate Sour, and then leaving. Another Twitter …
TSM signs two Fortnite players to compete in Championship Series
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Team SoloMid is signing two new Fortnite pros. As developer Epic Games continues to expand Fortnite’s tournament scene with the Fortnite Championship Series, TSM is looking to make an even bigger impact on it with two new Fortnite players added to their squad. Emad “EmadGG” Nasif and Theo “Crue” Ferrer are two established players, and the announcement was met fondly on Twitter. According to their official announcement, Emad first made …
Ninja at two million followers with Fortnite streams on Mixer
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
Only a few short weeks after making public his decision to leave streaming giant Twitch for Microsoft’s Mixer platform, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has hit two million followers on Mixer. After deciding to leave Twitch and the 14.7 million followers he had gained there in order to stream exclusively on Mixer, Ninja has been satisfied with how things with Mixer are progressing. His first Mixer stream played out on August 2 …
Ninja, Pokimane, and more step away from Fortnite for Minecraft
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
Fortnite players have been more than unsatisfied with Season X ever since its first update. Many streamers are leaving the game and turning towards other games like Minecraft, and not even Fortnite’s biggest streamers, including Imane “Pokimane” and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, are immune from making the switch. The craze started when Epic Games decided to introduce the BRUTE mech, an overpowered vehicle that not even the best players could work …
Dr. Disrespect declares Fortnite “overrated” and “soulless”
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Guy “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm has made it clear: he is unhappy with Fortnite. The battle royale star pleaded with the gaming community to move on from the Epic Games shooter. “Fortnite is the most overrated soulless game in the history of game development,” Dr. Disrespect wrote in an August 28 tweet. Those with a pulse on the Fortnite scene will know he’s talking about some unpopular decisions Epic has made …
Fortnite has come a long way over the course of the game’s lifespan. What began as an upstart early-access title with base-building mechanics would eventually transform into the world’s most popular and lucrative video game, capturing the attention of millions upon millions of players across the world and entering into the mainstream cultural lexicon.
But how exactly did that happen? How did one of many games released by developer Epic Games manage to transform in real-time into something with such potential, and to what extent did Fortnite really grow? The answers are indicative of what it takes for a game to go from new and struggling to becoming a global phenomenon.
The original vision for Fortnite was very different compared to the game that is so widely popular today. Developers at Epic Games intended to create a game that would merge base-building mechanics with the popular shooting gameplay that the company was best known for, from its experience releasing such titles those found in the Unreal Tournament and Gears of War franchises.
While that vision was altered even prior to Fortnite’s initial release, with a darker creative look becoming brighter and more reminiscent of children’s cartoons, the first release of Fortnite did feature that original focus. Titled Fortnite: Saves the World, this was a paid early-access release that met moderate fanfare and player enthusiasm.
A follow-up release would do far better. That follow-up was Fortnite Battle Royale, a free-to-play version of the game that featured the core mechanics and experience players most associate with the Fortnite name today. The battle royale game mode, thrown together in just a couple of months by developers, was at the time a relatively new concept. A multitude of players would be dropped onto one map to do battle with each other, accruing resources and weaponry in an open-world environment to better equip themselves for combat. Eventually, the game’s playable map size would shrink over time, forcing players to engage with each other until only one winning player was left standing.
It’s a simple concept, but in 2017 it was fresh and new. Players quickly flocked to try this early battle royale game, and within weeks of its free-to-play release, Fortnite Battle Royale was playing host to millions of players.
First and foremost, the success of Fortnite can be seen in the extreme revenue numbers generated by the game for maker Epic Games. Just a few short years after its release, Fortnite had already led to billions of dollars in revenue for Epic. This success was enough to send reverberations throughout the entire video game industry. Dozens of clones would follow, trying to recapture the battle royale magic that Fortnite had so successfully crystallized, but it proved difficult for most.
Money wasn’t the only marker of the game’s ascendance, however. Fortnite broached popular mainstream culture in a way that few video games ever have. Popular streamer and former Halo pro Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was at the fore of this wave of popularity, co-streaming with rap superstar Drake and appearing on numerous television talk shows to discuss the game and the craze surrounding it. Popular musicians beyond Drake also got involved with the game, as Travis Scott and Marshmello hosted live, in-game concerts to both popular and critical acclaim.
The Fortnite World Cup raised the game’s profile even further in some circles. Held at the famous Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City, the event awarded $3 million to 16-year-old phenom Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, who then found himself paraded through mainstream media circles just as Ninja had been before him.
While its apex may have come and gone, Fortnite remains one of the most popular and successful games in the world today, continuing to play host to many millions of players while generating major revenues for Epic Games.
