Fortnite
Fortnite
Ninja and Adidas to partner as sports brands invest in gaming
M Alzamora
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has announced a new partnership with sports apparel brand Adidas. Neither party has disclosed the financial details of the agreement. Ninja teased the announcement on August 26 with a video using Adidas preferred typeface. Samsung uses a similar font, and with the teaser involving a jumbled mess of mobile phone footage as its cornerstone effect. Given that Samsung already has a history of working with Ninja, many …
Fortnite
Epic releases Major Lazer collaboration cosmetic in Fortnite
Fariha Bhatti
Epic Games has released another cosmetics pack for Fortnite, this time containing seven separate cosmetic items. The pack is in collaboration with EDM music group Major Lazer, which the pack is named after. The Major Lazer bundle is now live in the Fortnite Store, and players can buy the entire set for a total of 2,475 V-Bucks. Each of the items is themed in line with the band as part …
Fortnite
Fortnite X Mayhem event brings Borderlands content, new map location
Olivia Richman
Borderlands has officially arrived in Fortnite, thanks to a crossover between 2K Games and Epic Games that launched this morning. The Fortnite x Mayhem event comes with a new map location, known as The Pandora Rift Zone. As shown in a new trailer, players that enter Pandora are transported to a Borderlands-style location in the game’s iconic art style. More importantly, the Pandora Rift Zone brings a new element to …
Fortnite
Fortnite pro Ninja gives opinion on violent video game debate
M Alzamora
For those wondering where Tyler “Ninja” Blevins stands on gun violence and its root cause, he can’t tell you what it is, but he does have an opinion on what it isn’t: video games. Catching up with Ninja on the street, TMZ Sports wanted the Fortnite pro’s thoughts on the Donald Trump administration’s stance against video games in the face of increasing gun violence in America. “What’s violent about Minecraft …
Fortnite
Contender Cup canceled in Oceania and Asia, Epic lacks answers
Olivia Richman
Epic Games has canceled the Contender Cup in two regions. Oceania and Asia were unable to compete due to an issue that was not made clear. As a remedy, Epic announced that the event was canceled for the day while they investigate the issue. The prizes that would have been rewarded this week were also added to next week’s Contender Solo Cash Cup instead. “We are aware that some players …
Fortnite
Fortnite 10.10 update brings map changes, glitched items
Olivia Richman
Fortnite’s 10.10 content update has gone live, introducing map changes and new items. The patch was originally added last week, introducing a lot of map changes. This included the return of Retail Row, which replaced Mega Mall. Just six days later, the map is already changing again. Epic Games introduced players to the Junk Rift, a possible solution to the almighty B.R.U.T.E. that has angered pro and casual players …
Fortnite
Epic struggles to balance big tournaments with casual Fortnite play
Jared Wynne
Epic Games continues to outdo itself. The famed Fortnite developer and publish is only pumping more and more money into its game’s fledgling esports scene. The latest announcement of a $10 million prize for its later tournament series serves as further evidence of this. This comes only a short time after the completion of the Fortnite World Cup, where Epic Games distributed a total of $30 million to competing players. …
Fortnite
Big names feature in Fortnite Championship Series Trios opening
Olivia Richman
The first week of the Fortnite Champion Series Trios has come to a close, and some familiar names are on the leaderboards. World Cup Solo winner Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, who competed in the North America East server, has secured a spot in stage two by placing fourth with his squad. Popular streamers Crimz and Clix took first in the same server with their partner. Team Liquid had Cented on the …
Ninja makes Time’s 100 Most Influential People List for 2019
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite celebrity Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is on the Time 100: The Most Influential People of 2019. With over 1 million subscribers on Mixer and 14.7 million followers still remaining on Twitch even after his channel was abandoned, Ninja is only popular even beyond the esports and gaming communities. Often credited with helping efforts to make competitive video games more popular in mainstream media and society, Ninja was listed as a …
Fortnite Championship Series prizes and schedule revealed
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
More details have been released by Epic Games regarding the Fortnite Champion Series, which begins tomorrow with a trios event. Announced back in July, the Fortnite Champsion Series has only made headlines so far for the inclusion of the B.R.U.T.E. But fans are finally able to see full details of the major tournament, which will have all of their favorite pros and streamers competing for a piece of the $10 …
Fortnite players not happy with Epic’s BRUTE explanation
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite fans and pros alike are not happy with Epic Game’s reasoning for keeping the B.R.U.T.E. vehicle in competitive game modes. Epic decided to address fans that were dismayed over the developer’s decision to keep the B.R.U.T.E. present in the Fortnite Championship Series, despite it being viewed as overpowered and imbalanced. On August 15, Epic Games told players that the powerful mech was added at the start of Season X with …
Epic Games remove Gunner Pet from stores, issues refunds
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
After harsh criticism from the Fortnite community, Epic Games has removed Gunner Pet from the store. Gunner was only available for part of one day before Epic Games removed the pet from the store, as well as from the Locker of anyone who purchased him. Any player who purchased Gunner was given 1,200 V-bucks, which is 200 more V-bucks than the cost of Gunner. “We should not have released teh …
The latest BRUTE problem allows for massive material gathering
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Add another tally to Fortnite’s total of headaches induced by the B.R.U.T.E mech. Players have found that you and each member of your squad can earn a full stack of 999 bricks without breaking a sweat, and it’s all because of the controversial new mech. Hop into the B.R.U.T.E. and perform a stomp in front of a stone structure at Okyt’s Block. Doing so will instantly grant you and your …
Fortnite patch 10.10 nerfs the BRUTE, brings Retail Row rift zone
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
Fortnite patch v10.10 is live and has implemented a new Rift Zone, a World Run game mode, and changes to the B.R.U.T.E. During this patch, players will be able to participate in World Run, the new limited time mode where 16 players divided into four squads will race in coin collecting. The first team to collect 30 coins wins. Mega Mall, the futuristic location on the Fortnite battle royale map …
Bugha, Fortnite World Cup winners receive in-game trophies
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Esports haven’t yet achieved the level of importance that would see statues erected and streets renamed for legends of the craft, but Epic Games has immortalized its champions in another way, with new in-game trophies. Fortnite World Cup winners have trophies dedicated to their accomplishments within the game world. There are two in total, one for solos winner Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, and the other for the duos team of Emil …
TimTheTatMan demonstrates one-handed BRUTE dominance
William Davis
Fortnite
Streamer Timothy “Timhetatman” Betar is not impressed with the new BRUTE mech in Fornite. TimTheTatMan showed his disappointment with the newest addition to the game. On stream, he partnered up with other streamers including Benjamin “DrLupo” Lupo for a game. In the game, he came across a BRUTE and showed just how overpowered it is with a wild killing spree that was still anything but exciting. “It’s so sad, I’m …
Fortnite World Cup champion Bugha swatted during Twitch stream
William Davis
Fortnite
Fortnite World Cup champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf was swatted during a recent Twitch stream. The 16-year-old was in the middle of a match when his father informed him that law enforcement had arrived at his door. Bugha quickly realizes that he is being swatted and steps away from his setup, leaving both his teammates and audience confused over what happened. Fortunately, no one was harmed in the incident. Bugha returned …
Epic to adjust BRUTE spawn rates in Fortnite after complaints
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Epic Games recently appeared to slam the door on hopes that Fortnite’s problematic new B.R.U.T.E. mech would be addressed, but it’s now offering a potential middle ground for those who want it removed from the game entirely. Instead of scrubbing its existence clean from the isles of Fortnite, Epic has instead opted to test new spawn rates for the item in Arena and Tournament playlists, which is where pro players …
Fortnite Red Strike starter pack content and visuals leaked
Fariha Bhatti
Fortnite
A new cosmetics pack for Fortnite has been discovered by data miners. According to the newly leaked information, the collection of loot will be called Red Strike and will be packaged as a starter pack in the game. The leaked content pack was discovered by popular Fortnite leaker ShiinaBR on Twitter. First shared on August 11, that shared code reveals information on just what the the pack will include, and …
Former Twitch executive condemns handling of Ninja’s channel
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Twitch’s former vice president of community, Justin Wong, has recently revealed his own two cents on the streaming platform’s treatment of Tyler “Ninja” Blevin’s old channel. Wong tweeted that Twitch’s decision to promote other channls on Ninja’s page brings up a long-running internal conflict at the company: Who owns the viewers, the streamer, or the platform? After working at Twitch for six years, Wong gave some insight on this situation. …
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.
