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Fortnite’s $500,000 World Cup Warm Up Cup continues Fortnite Fortnite’s $500,000 World Cup Warm Up Cup continues By Olivia Richman Epic irks Fortnite pros with late rule change for World Cup Fortnite Epic irks Fortnite pros with late rule change for World Cup By Steven Rondina Plagiarism claims by artist against Fortnite come under scrutiny Fortnite Plagiarism claims by artist against Fortnite come under scrutiny By Fariha Bhatti
Fortnite takes BAFTA award at annual game award ceremony Fortnite
Fortnite takes BAFTA award at annual game award ceremony Fariha Bhatti Fortnite has won the title of Best Evolving Game at the BAFTA 2019 Games Awards. The British award ceremony took place in London and presented a variety of different awards across varied gaming and film categories. Fortnite won the title after being nominated along with five other games, each with a heavy online component and continual updates that keep fans playing long after the initial release dates. The other five …
Prince Harry says Fortnite is addicting, should not be allowed Fortnite
Prince Harry says Fortnite is addicting, should not be allowed Steven Rondina Lots of celebrities are big fans of Fortnite, but Prince Harry is not among that lot. Speaking at a YMCA event in London, the British royal railed against social media and video games. Discussing Fortnite in particular, he stated the game was causing strain on families and labeled it addicting. “That game shouldn’t be allowed. Where is the benefit of having it in your household,” the prince asked, per BBC. …
SK Telecom T1 looks to expand its dynasty to battle royales Fortnite
SK Telecom T1 looks to expand its dynasty to battle royales Steven Rondina SKT Telecom T1 is looking to extend its reach and visibility westward. Though the brand is one of the most successful in esports history with a Starcraft team led by the legendary Lim “BoxeR” Yo Hwan and a League of Legends dynasty built by Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, SKT has never left those comfort zones. That has made the organization a household name in its native South Korea and appointment viewing …
Free Carbon Bundle available exclusively to PS4 Fortnite players Fortnite
Free Carbon Bundle available exclusively to PS4 Fortnite players Fariha Bhatti Fortnite developer Epic Games has released a free Fortnite skin for players to claim, but it’s available exclusively to PlayStation Plus members. The Carbon Bundle pack can be claimed from the PlayStation store by any players with a paid subscription to Sony’s PlayStation 4 online service. The Carbon Bundle includes two items, though unlike the starter bundles available for purchase it does not include any of Fortnite’s V-Bucks currency. PlayStation …
Fortnite Duos Luxe Cup info and $100,000 prize pool revealed Fortnite Fortnite Duos Luxe Cup info and $100,000 prize pool revealed By Olivia Richman Drake invests in esports startup despite previous Twitch drama Fortnite Drake invests in esports startup despite previous Twitch drama By Olivia Richman Ninja will soon have his face on Red Bull Energy Drink cans Fortnite Ninja will soon have his face on Red Bull Energy Drink cans By Olivia Richman
Ranked matchmaking, new healing items added in latest Fortnite update Fortnite
Ranked matchmaking, new healing items added in latest Fortnite update Steven Rondina The latest Fortnite update has dropped, bringing with it a series of long-awaited additions to the game. The 8.20 patch has officially launched, introducing ranked matchmaking alongside new items and some surprising balance tweaks. The centerpiece for the 8.20 update is the new Arena Mode, which serves as a competitive version of Fortnite Battle Royale. The game itself is no different from a standard Battle Royale game, but gives players …
Pro Fortnite players frustrated over World Cup qualifiers Fortnite
Pro Fortnite players frustrated over World Cup qualifiers Steven Rondina The build to the Fortnite World Cup has just begun and pro players are already angry over it. Epic Games announced that it will use a series of online qualifiers to determine participants in the $30 million World Cup tournament. The process has many pro players criticizing the format. The qualification process is a lengthy one, but has the potential to be quite lucrative for players. The first step takes …
Valve calls out Epic Games for ripping information from users, Steam Fortnite
Valve calls out Epic Games for ripping information from users, Steam Fariha Bhatti The Epic Games storefront client has recently been revealed to be using client data taken from rival digital storefront Steam.The data file pulled from Steam is then sent to Epic Games, much to the displeasure of Steam developer Valve, who have clearly stated the files are not to be used by third-party companies. The discovery gained attention when a detailed post accused Epic Games of accessing DLL files, which are …
FaZe Clan announces signing of 13-year-old Fortnite pro Fortnite
FaZe Clan announces signing of 13-year-old Fortnite pro William Davis FaZe Clan have made a bold acquisition to the esports organization’s Fortnite roster in new player “H1ghSky1.” That the move is bold isn’t a comment on H1ghSky’s skills. His age is the reason, as H1ghSky1 only 13 years old. According to FaZe’s announcement of the signing, he’s the youngest member to ever be signed to the massive competitive gaming team. The announcement was slightly spoiled by Ali “Myth” Kabbani of …
Epic Games CEO brushes off Apex Legends, talks Fortnite growth Steven Rondina Fortnite The Apex Legends boom is not a problem, according to Epic Games. Speaking with VentureBeat at the Game Developers Conference, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney talked about a number of topics including the Unreal Engine, the Epic Store, and the company’s efforts to help enterprising game developers. Included in that interview was a quick discussion about the success of Fortnite, and how its growth apparently hasn’t been affected by the rise …
Epic Games reveals new prize pool details for the Blackheart Cup Olivia Richman Fortnite While the Scallywag Cup may have just ended, another Fortnite tournament is already on the near horizon. Epic Games has announced the full details of this weekend’s Blackheart Cup an online tournament. The Blackheart Cup begins on March 23, pitting the top three percent of players in the world pulled from the Gauntlet Test Events. On March 24, the top 3,000 players in each region will compete in the grand …
Fortnite pro Tfue opens up after sudden trip to hospital Steven Rondina Fortnite Turner “Tfue” Tenney has returned to action after a health scare, but he isn’t back to 100 percent just yet. A day after announcing on Twitter that he had landed in an emergency room, the Fortnite pro returned to Twitch to let fans know what had happened. Though Tfue himself had no definitive answers on his condition, he indicated during his stream that it was related to a lingering issue …
New Fortnite update brings new pistol, ends Baller’s reign of terror Steven Rondina Fortnite Epic Games is almost always giving Fortnite players some new toys, and the latest update for the game is keeping things fresh. The 8.11 patch has dropped in Fortnite and with it comes a number of balance tweaks and shakeups to the weapon rotation in the battle royale game mode. There’s also a number of changes made to PVE. The most obvious addition for fans is the new Flint-Knock Pistol. …
Epic Games publishes public roadmap of upcoming store features Fariha Bhatti Fortnite Developer Epic Games has released a publicly available roadmap for the progress of its digital game storefront. The roadmap includes a list of upcoming features, timeframes, and other information on any critical issues that the team are working on. It was published using digital organizational tool Trello. Epic Games recently announced the roadmap on the company’s blog, providing a link to the English-language board. The main section of the board …
Epic Games releases new information on Fortnite Scallywag Cup Olivia Richman Fortnite Qualifying is coming to a close for Fortnite’s $100,000 Scallywag Cup. Players who place in the top three percent in the Gauntlet Test Event will unlock this in-game tournament. The Gauntlet Test Event ranks players based on a points system, with Victory Royales being worth three points, and the potential for 10 total points per game. Each elimination is worth one point. Each match played reduces players’ score by two …
Ninja and Shroud reportedly paid big by EA to stream Apex Legends Steven Rondina Apex Legends Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has made a lot of money off of Apex Legends. According to Trust.org, the popular Fortnite streamer was paid “around $1 million” by Apex Legends publisher Electronic Arts to promote the game to his fans. Ninja was one of many popular Twitch personalities to play Apex Legends in the days immediately following its release, and he was not alone in receiving compensation for streaming the game. Trust.org …
FlyQuest releases Fortnite pro Tinny for alleged domestic violence Steven Rondina Fortnite Fortnite pro Tinny is at the center of an ugly controversy. The British player has been officially released by esports organization FlyQuest following allegations of physical and mental abuse by an ex-girlfriend. The team announced the news in a statement on Twitter. “We want to follow up in regards to the situation arising yesterday involving one of our Fortnite players,” said FlyQuest. “After investigating and discussing with the player in question, …
Ninja signs exclusive deal with gaming agency Loaded Olivia Richman Fortnite Fortnite phenomenon Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was recently signed to management firm Loaded. The firm, which focuses primarily on gaming influencers, also added popular streamers Ben “DrLupo” Lupo and Jack “CouRag” Dunlop to its roster. All three are best known for streaming Fortnite, creating content along the way that cumulatively reached over two billion views across Twitch and YouTube over the last year. Ninja himself has over 13 million Twitch followers …
Fortnite dance lawsuit dropped by Alfonso Ribeiro, 2 Milly Steven Rondina Fortnite Fortnite publisher Epic Games has cleared its latest legal hurdles. According to multiple reports, actor Alfonso Ribeiro, rapper 2 Milly, and social media personality “The Backpack Kid” have dropped their lawsuits against the company. All three popularized dance moves that were later used as Fortnite emotes. The trio were suing developer Epic Games, claiming it infringed on their right of publicity under California law and infringed upon copyrights by including …
TSM cuts Cowboy after inappropriate conduct with minor allegations Steven Rondina Fortnite Noah “Cowboy” Cmiel is at the center of a serious controversy. The pro Fortnite player has been officially released from Team SoloMid. The move was announced by TSM on Twitter with no explanation, but it comes after allegations of the player sending inappropriate messages to an underaged streamer. Cowboy is 27 years old. A Twitch streamer using the handle “Faith” claimed that Cowboy had sent messages to a 16-year-old saying …
$500,000 Fortnite tournament hit by dramatic glitches Steven Rondina Fortnite ESL One Katowice’s Fortnite event did not go smoothly. Taking place just days after the launch of the season eight update, the $500,000 tournament in Poland was mired by a variety of bugs introduced by the pirate-themed patch. During competition, several players encountered strange issues, with some losing out on valuable points as a result. The most egregious example of this was seen live when Team Heretics player Marcos “MarkiLokuras” Barragan …

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.

Fortnite transforms from base-building beginnings to battle royale

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.