Fortnite
Fortnite
Fortnite Championship Series set to shake up Fortnite esports
Steven Rondina
Fortnite esports might look a lot different going forward. During the World Cup Solo Finals, the Fortnite Championship Series was announced. Few details were given, but all signs point to this being a major shakeup to the structure of the game’s competitive scene. “Competitive Fortnite isn’t going anywhere. Once Season 9 wraps up and we move on to our next season, we will be debuting the Fortnite Championship Series,” Fortnite …
Fortnite
Fortnite World Cup Duos won by Aqua and Nyhrox, rewarded $3 million
Olivia Richman
Fortnite duo David “Aqua” Wang and Emil Bergquist “Nyhrox” Pedersen won this weekend’s World Cup Duo finals, taking home $3 million. The 17 and 16-year-old Fortnite competitors scored 51 points during the finals’ six games, which were largely dominated by lesser-known players. The only popular players that performed especially well were Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson and Dmitri “Mitr0” Van de Vrie, who placed sixth. “I’ll remember this moment for the rest of …
Fortnite
Airwaks and RL Grime become two-time Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am champs
Steven Rondina
Karim “Airwaks” Benghalia and musician RL Grime are Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am champions once again. The duo came out on top of the Fortnite World Cup’s installment of the event, winning $1 million for charity following a four-game series. With the victory, they became the first two-time Celebrity Pro-Am champions following their previous first-place finish at the second installment of the event, which took place in June. Game one started …
Fortnite
Epic reverses course after denying warm-up time at Fortnite World Cup
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Competitive Fortnite players were furious to find out Epic Games had structured the Fortnite World Cup Finals 2019 in a way that provides no time for warm-up ahead of matches, only to see Epic reverse course on the decision just before the start of the tournament. Despite the high amount of money it awards to players, Epic Games is continuing to build a negative reputation within the competitive community. In …
Fortnite
Ninja discusses break from streaming, mental health woes
Olivia Richman
One of Twitch’s most popular personalities, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, surprised fans by taking a two-week break from streaming. After heading to the NFL Player Social Summit in Los Angeles in early July, Ninja decided to take time off from from work while in California despite Red Bull hooking him up with a studio to stream in. His followers were not aware of why he suddenly slipped away from Twitch until …
Fortnite
Natus Vincere picks up new Fortnite roster of World Cup
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Natus Vincere hasn’t been satisfied with the results of Viggo “Bowman” Hahnsson and Daniel “AlphaAmons” Johnsson during the current Fortnite season, so it has made a decision to change the team’s roster ahead of the Fornite World Cup. Bowman and AlphaAmons are being replaced by two young Dutch players, Levi “lnuef” Edelijin and Quinten “Quinten” Van Der Zijpp. The new players and 15 and 17 years old, respectively, and have …
Fortnite
Fortnite patch 9.41 adds new sniper rifle, celebrates birthday
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite is now two years old and Epic Games is celebrating the occasion with the version 9.41 patch. The update includes new challenges, bug fixes, and content for Battle Royale, Creative, and Save the World modes. The highlight of the update is a new weapon, the Storm Scout Sniper Rifle. The new gun is available epic and legendary forms and has a unique weather map component. The weather map will …
Fortnite
Fortnite viewership disappoints during new Monster vs Mech battle
Olivia Richman
Robot versus monster sounds like an attention-grabbing headline, but Fortnite’s Season 9 event failed to deliver the views. With 606,000 concurrent viewers at its peak, Saturday’s event wasn’t even in Fortnite’s top 10 most-viewed Twitch streaming moments. In fact, it was one of the game’s least-watched Twitch events according to GitHyp. The large-scale fight only served to further illuminate Fortnite’s slowly dwindling viewership this past year. While the one-time battle …
Ninja Returns to Lollapalooza for Red Bull Outpost event
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is going to be in attendance for Lollapalooza. The popular streamer will be hanging out at the annual music festival’s Red Bull Outpost in Chicago from August 2 to 4. A few lucky gamers will have the chance to square up with the Fortnite star at the event. Fans can enter to win VIP tickets and a personal meet-and-greet opportunity with Ninja himself. The lucky winner will …
New Storm Scout rifle details leaked through Fortnite data mining
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Storm stragglers in Fortnite may soon find it even more difficult to survive. Data miners have uncovered an exotic new sniper rifle that could spoil their storm-exploring fun. Evidence of this “Storm Scout” sniper rifle exists within the game files for Fortnite Patch 9.40. There was no available description for the new rifle’s capabilities, but there is early speculation that the sniper rifle will make it easier to look into …
Endretta joins Misfits ahead of Fortnite World Cup finals
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
Misfits Gaming has welcomed Norwegian player Endre “Endretta” as an addition to its Fortnite World Cup squad. Endretta qualified for the Fortnite World Cup Finals in the ninth week of European qualifiers, where he achieved the highest number of points in the solo tournament. He is considered to be one of Norway’s top competitive Fortnite players. He has previously played for Xypher Esports, a European Fornite team that represents more …
Fortnite patch 9.40 arrives with shotgun changes and tournaments
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
The latest Fortnite patch, version 9.40, is up and running on live servers and has brought with it a few new things for Fortnite players. The new patch is bringing the tactical shotgun back in both epic and legendary forms. The patch also includes changes to some existing weapons and items, new tournaments, miscellaneous gameplay changes, and some assorted game improvements and bug fixes. The new tactical shotgun variants will …
Shroud says playing competitive Fortnite is just free money
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Twitch streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek might be well known for playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professionally or for streaming Apex Legends with a broken elbow, but he also has a very strong opinion about Fortnite. According to shroud, Fortnite is the best battle royale to go pro in if you’re looking to make some quick cash. “It’s just free money. Even if you lose, you win. Not many games are like …
Fortnite 9.40 could bring tactical shotguns into action
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Two new shotguns are being added to Fortnite. Epic Games has revealed that Epic and Legendary variants of the tactical shotgun will soon enter the loot pool. The new weapons are expected to be similar to the standard semi-automatic shotguns already available in the game. No release date has been announced but many assume the guns will be included in the 9.40 content update which is set to roll out …
Fortnite Season 9 mystery timer appears in sky, hints at Season 10
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Something big is brewing in Fortnite. The skies above the game’s play area are glowing with a countdown timer that is ticking down to approximately 2 p.m. EST on Saturday, July 20. Folks frequenting the cursed island can spot the timer above every sky platform. Epic Games has released no hints or teasers regarding its origins and there are no clues as to what might happen when the timer hits …
TSM Myth diss track aims at Symfuhny but skips a few beats
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Inspired by H1ghsky1’s diss track aimed at Turner “Tfue” Tenney, Fortnite pro TSM Myth has attempted a diss track of his own. While on Twitch, Team SoloMid’s Myth decided to take a shot at streamer Mason “Symfuhny” Lanier with an improvised diss track. And it didn’t go too well. “Got a lot of things on my mind,” Myth rapped to a questionable beat. “So I’m gonna let it rewind. Symfuhny was …
Fortnite Trios event returns after first attempt marred by bugs
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Epic Games will run another $1 million Fortnite Trios Cash Cup on July 21 after unforeseen bugs forced last-minute changes to the original event. Eager participants were all set for battle when developer Epic announced that it had to use default harvesting rates and disable material drops from downed enemies. Epic also disabled the Storm Flip item that altered the storm’s position and made for unpredictable moments in the late …
Fortnite Trios Cash Cup’s rules changed minutes before event
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
Fortnite esports continues to take two steps back for each one forward. The highly anticipated Trios Cash Cup event will be running with a special set of rules due to the discovery of some troublesome bugs. The news was announced by Epic Games on Twitter approximately 15 minutes before start time. “While addressing the material drop issue in the Trios Cash Cup, we ran into a different issue,” Epic said. …
Fortnite Team Rumble is set to become a standard game mode
M Alzamora
Fortnite
Team Rumble isn’t going anywhere. Epic Games has announced that the game mode is now a permanent part of the Fortnite playlist. Revealing the change on Reddit, Epic developer DustyDevo laid out the company’s plans regarding Team Rumble and other large-team limited-time modes. “Our new plan is to leave Team Rumble in as a default always on mode, continue rotating small team LTMs every two or three days, and to …
PS4 players to receive new exclusive Fortnite bundles
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Fortnite
PlayStation is launching five new limited edition Fortnite Neo Versa bundles with PlayStation exclusive cosmetics. New bundles include the Epic Neo Versa Outfit, the Epic Neo Phrenzy Back Bling, and V-bucks. The code for this exclusive Fortnite content will be bundled either with a PlayStation 4, DualShock 4 Wireless Controllers, or a Gold Wireless Headset. Fortnite Neo Versa PS4 bundle includes a jet-black 500GB PS4, one matching wireless controller, a …
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.
