Fortnite
Fortnite
Cloud9 recruits new Fortnite roster ahead of Fortnite World Cup
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Cloud9 is returning to competitive Fortnite with a brand new roster. Joining Cloud9’s Fortnite team are three top tier Brazilian players and one of the most wanted free agents from the United States. The new team consists of Igor “drakoNz” Fernandes, Patrick “BlackoutZ” Babinski, Nicollas “Nicks” Polonio de Oliveira, and Skylar “snow” Baibinski. Snow, the only player from the US, qualified for the 2019 Fornite World Cup Finals in the …
Fortnite
Tfue gets rare Quadcrasher kill by crashing on top of opponent
Olivia Richman
“Yeehaw!” Turner “Tfue” Tenney exclaimed as he flew through the air in a Fortnite Quadcrasher. The competitive Fortnite player started out his latest stream innocently enough. He built a ramp to race his Quadcrasher up, looking to soar high above the map. But his goals changed when he saw an opponent minding their own business obliviously down below. Tfue decided it was time to aim his rocketing Quadcrasher at the …
Fortnite
Latest Fortnite update includes Drum Shotgun and July 4th heroes
Olivia Richman
Another update is now live on Fortnite. Epic has released the latest patch notes for Fortnite as the 14 Days of Summer event continues. Now live for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices, the small update includes a brand new weapon for the game’s Battle Royale mode. The Drum Shotgun is a new addition to Fortnite this week. It comes in common, uncommon, and rare varieties, and …
Fortnite
FaZe Clan posts PR manager job listing after multiple disasters
William Davis
Fans come down on both sides of the ongoing legal battle between Turner “Tfue” Tenney and FaZe Clan but few would say that FaZe has handled the situation well. The organization is looking to fix that by hiring a new Public Relations Manager. The listing appeared on a number of esports job boards, drawing widespread snark across social media. “FaZe Clan…is searching for a dynamic and experienced publicist who is …
Mongraal and Mitr0 get a $20,000 victory royale at Friday Fortnite
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
The Friday Night Fortnite series wrapped up in entertaining fashion. Fortnite pros Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson and Dmitri “Mitr0” Van de Vrie took first place in final tournament of the series, banking $20,000 for their efforts. They sealed the deal by last defeating French duo Corentin “Gotaga” Houssein and Karim “Airwaks” Benghalia. “Friday Fortnite win with Mongraal. Looks like we were both fucking cracked today, it’s crazy,” Mitr0 tweeted. Going into the …
Liquid POACH retires from competitive Fortnite, focuses on content
William Davis
Fortnite
One of competitive Fortnite’s brightest stars has announced his retirement. Jake “POACH” Brumleve of Team Liquid fame announced that he would be moving on from competing in Fortnite through his Twitch channel. POACH will still create Fortnite content, and the battle royale title is sure to continue to be the majority focus of his streams. However, he’ll now mix in some other games in addition to Fortnite. POACH also echoed …
TSM Myth announces unexpected Fortnite partners for Trio Tournament
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite players have been anxiously awaiting the upcoming Trios Tournament on July 13 but now fans have even more reason to look forward to the event. Team SoloMid’s Ali “Myth” Kabbani will be entering the tournament along with two big-name streamers who may come as a shock to the Fortnite community. His squad will include former Overwatch pro player Felix “xQc” Lengyel and IRL streamer Dimitri “Greekgodx” Antonatos. xQc may …
Fornite 9.30 brings back Pump Shotgun, begins 14 Days of Summer
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Epic released v9.30’s first patch notes this morning and they’ve been a big hit with the Fortnite community. The classic Revolver has been replaced by a new version that is described as “simple, reliable,” and “powerful,” available in Epic and Legendary variants. The new weapon holds six rounds, and does 66 damage per shot. But that wasn’t the only weapon-related news. In fact, Fortnite players were way more interested …
Why the Tfue and FaZe Clan contract dispute has big implications
gabhernandez
Fortnite
Fortnite streamer and content creator Turner “Tfue” Tenney’s recently filed suit against his employing organization FaZe Clan has brought to light a long-standing issue of predatory contracts in esports. Esports attorneys have been talking about this as an issue for a long time now. Bryce Blum, an esports attorney unrelated to the case, took to Twitter to explain his own interpretation of the events described thus far. He points out …
H1ghsky1 releases dreadful diss track at Fortnite esports star Tfue
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
The ongoing litigation between Fortnite star Turner “Tfue” Tenney and FaZe Clan is one of the most important stories in esports, but it’s also kind of dumb. While Tfue and his legal team have taken a by the numbers approach to the situation with carefully handled public statements, members of FaZe have publicly lashed out in ways that are likely hurt the brand’s standing from both public relations and legal …
Luminosity Gaming opens LG Fortnite House, signs four influencers
William Davis
Fortnite
Luminosity Gaming is expanding in a big way. The Canadian organization announced the signing of four Fortnite personalities in Alex “Formula” Kushelevskiy, John “Kiwiz” Payne, Nick “Nicks” Spoerke, and Jordan “Randumb” Schneider. The players will live at the newly christened LG Fortnite House in Florida, which will both house Luminosity’s talent and serve as a content creation hub for the organization. “We are on a mission to collaborate with players, …
Ninja signs publishing deal, to release three books this year
William Davis
Fortnite
Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins will be releasing three books in 2019. Ninja is taking on a new challenge this year. The popular streamer is expanding his brand with a new book publishing deal. Ninja, through his representatives at management firm Loaded, signed a deal with two Random House imprints. He will release two books with Clarkson Potter and one graphic novel with Ten Speed Press. “Ninja: Get Good” and …
FILA sponsors Counter Logic Gaming ahead of Fortnite World Cup
William Davis
Fortnite
Counter Logic Gaming has announced FILA as the apparel partner for its Fortnite squad. CLG’s Fortnite team will show up at the 2019 Fortnite World Cup with a new look. Starting in July, the players will wear apparel provided exclusively by FILA. This is the first time FILA has closed a partnership deal with an esports organization. As the industry evolves, more brands are looking to get involved and capitalize …
Airwaks and RL Grime victorious in celebrity Fortnite Pro-Am
William Davis
Fortnite
Solary player Karim “Airwaks” Benghalia and DJ RL Grime are the winners of the Fortnite Pro-Am 2019. The Summer Block Party closed on June 16 with the 2019 Celebrity Pro-Am, where Airwaks and RL Grime took the victory and the golden pickaxe. The Forum was the destination for 50 duos made up of celebrities and pro gamers who put their Fortnite skills to the test. With a $3 million prize …
Data miners uncover Stranger Things cosmetics coming to Fortnite
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
First there was The Avengers. Then there was John Wick. And now, Fortnite is collaborating with Stranger Things for new skins and promotional items relating to the original Netflix series. Since an ice cream parlor from the show turned up in Mega Mall at the beginning of Season 9, the crossover has been repeatedly been teased within the game. Once fans started speculating, Netflix confirmed that it was going to be …
Fornite V-Buck spending spree sees kids purchase 65,000 points
Nina Forneloza
Fortnite
The family of one Reddit user’s generosity cost him dearly when his young niece and nephew managed to purchase 65,000 V-Bucks, the in-game currency of Fortnite, before he’d realized what happened. The poster on Reddit says that he gave access to his PlayStation Network account to his niece and nephew so that they would have access to a wider selection of games. The two children managed to spend over $500, …
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.
Fortnite
Fortnite
Fortnite
Fortnite
