Fortnite
Fortnite
Fortnite patch 10.30 brings change to Moisty Palms, Greasy Groves
Olivia Richman
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 …
Fortnite
Ninja calls out haters who want him to stop playing World of Warcraft
Olivia Richman
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, …
Fortnite
Tfue possibly facing permaban on Twitch after racist language
Steven Rondina
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 …
Fortnite
Tfue runs into hacker as cheating in Fortnite remains a problem
Olivia Richman
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 …
Fortnite
TSM signs two Fortnite players to compete in Championship Series
Olivia Richman
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 …
Fortnite
Ninja at two million followers with Fortnite streams on Mixer
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
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 …
Fortnite
Ninja, Pokimane, and more step away from Fortnite for Minecraft
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
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 …
Fortnite
Dr. Disrespect declares Fortnite “overrated” and “soulless”
M Alzamora
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 …
New Xbox Game Pass subscribers can now support Mixer streamers
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
Purchasing Xbox Game Pass will now allow new users to support their favorite streamers partnered with Mixer, as Microsoft continues to build up their owned streaming platform. Microsoft has announced the new Mixer program with a goal of motivating creators to discover new games and expand their horizons, and at the same time letting their viewers support them through Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. New subscribers to the pass, as well …
Epic Games reverts turbo building nerf after community outrage
William Davis
Fortnite
Epic Games is going back on the turbo building changes introduced in Fortnite patch 10.20. Season X continues to be the most controversial and problematic for the developer. Epic Games has been heavily criticized for adding overpowered items in the game like the BRUTE mech. The most recent patch also changed the turbo building mechanic that allowed players, as the name indicates, to build faster. After the change, the players …
TSM Myth’s big play counters BRUTE mechs with bubble shield
William Davis
Fortnite
Team SoloMid Fortnite player Ali “Myth” Kabbani showed on stream how to use the new bubble shield to counter the infamous BRUTE mech. The bubble shield was introduced in patch 10.20, and it blocks projectiles and explosives for 30 seconds. It can be looted from floor loot, supply drops, vending machines, and chests. On stream, Myth showed viewers how to take full advantage of the bubble shield, especially versus the mech. …
Ninja and Adidas to partner as sports brands invest in gaming
M Alzamora
Fortnite
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 …
Epic releases Major Lazer collaboration cosmetic in Fortnite
Fariha Bhatti
Fortnite
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 X Mayhem event brings Borderlands content, new map location
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
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 pro Ninja gives opinion on violent video game debate
M Alzamora
Fortnite
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 patch 10.20 nerfs BRUTE, introduces Shield Bubble
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
Fortnite patch 10.20 is live with the Fortnite X Mayhem event, a new shield item, further changes to the BRUTE mech, and more. With Borderlands 3 releasing in just a few weeks, Epic Games is hyping up players by making a location near Paradise Palms into a Borderlands-themed rift zone. The Pandora Rift Zone, as the name suggests, is made based on the Borderlands’ Pandora planet. When not in …
Fortnite star Ninja faces JuJu Smith-Schuster on Family Feud
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins appeared on the August 25 episode of Celebrity Family Feud. He shared the stage with his friend and fellow gamer JuJu Smith-Schuster, who also happens to be a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The episode, which was recorded in February, aired on ABC. It can be found in its entirety on streaming platforms ABC Go and Hulu. Comprising “Team Ninja“ were Ninja, his wife Jessica Blevins, …
CouRage rage quits during Twitch Rivals after BRUTE elimination
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite pros don’t like the B.R.U.T.E. But they sure love to hate it. Twitch streamer Jack “CouRage” Dunlop rage quit in yesterday’s Twitch Rivals Fortnite Showdown after being targeted by an opponent using the B.R.U.T.E. mech. Before the fateful encounter, which left CouRage banging on his desk, he had been avoiding the mechs along with his teammate, Tim “TimTheTatman” Betar. “What are the odds?” he yells in agony. “Why the …
Contender Cup canceled in Oceania and Asia, Epic lacks answers
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
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 10.10 update brings map changes, glitched items
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
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 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.
