Fortnite
Fortnite
Epic Games reveals new prize pool details for the Blackheart Cup
Olivia Richman
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
Fortnite pro Tfue opens up after sudden trip to hospital
Steven Rondina
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 …
Fortnite
New Fortnite update brings new pistol, ends Baller’s reign of terror
Steven Rondina
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. …
Fortnite
Epic Games publishes public roadmap of upcoming store features
Fariha Bhatti
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 …
Fortnite
Ninja signs exclusive deal with gaming agency Loaded
Olivia Richman
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
Fortnite dance lawsuit dropped by Alfonso Ribeiro, 2 Milly
Steven Rondina
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 …
Fortnite
TSM cuts Cowboy after inappropriate conduct with minor allegations
Steven Rondina
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 …
Fortnite
$500,000 Fortnite tournament hit by dramatic glitches
Steven Rondina
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 Season 8 Battle Pass has new skins, nixes drop points
Olivia Richman
News
Fortnite’s Season 8 Battle Pass is full of changes and new additions, including over 100 pirate-themed cosmetics that unlock as players level up. Unlocking the Season 8 Battle Pass by completing last season’s Overtime Challenges results in the unlocking of two brand new outfits: Blackheart and Hybrid. Other notable skins include Sidewinder and Master Key. Every new skin in this season’s battle pass comes with unlockable style options that become …
Popular Fortnite player Tfue gets Fortnite tattoo on stream
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
Fortnite has left a literal mark on Turner “Tfue” Tenney. The FaZe Clan streamer and the winningest pro player in Fortnite’s history streamed himself receiving a brand new tattoo inspired by the game. Above his knee alongside an inked knifed is Jonesy, one of the game’s playable soldier characters. The tattoo pays homage to longstanding claims that Tfue shares a likeness with the character. Though this may be a stretch, …
100 Thieves signs Blind, gear up for Fortnite World Cup
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
100 Thieves has a new addition to its Fortnite roster in Maurilio “Blind” Gramajo. In an announcement on Twitter, 100 Thieves called Blind a “true competitor.” The competitive Fortnite player took home two first-place victories at Ninja Vegas 2018, and also placed in the top 10 at the Summer and Fall Skirmishes at PAX West and TwitchCon, respectively. “We absolutely can’t wait to see him back in the ring this …
Ninja to appear on TV game show Family Feud
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was recently in Los Angeles for a different kind of competition. Ninja announced on Twitter that he would be starring in an episode of Celebrity Family Feud this summer, joined by his wife and family. His fans had spent the week speculating why Ninja was in California after he sent out a few ominous tweets leading up to the reveal. Family Feud is one of …
Epic Games sues company behind Fortnite Live festival debacle
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Exciting Events has gone into liquidation after Epic Games filed a lawsuit in the wake of the company’s Norwich Fortnite Live festival. Without authorization from Epic to use the company’s intellectual properties, Exciting Events hosted a Fortnite-themed event that quickly became infamous after hundreds of attendees demanded refunds. “These proceedings by Epic Games has had a catastrophic impact on the company’s ability to trade, which has forced Exciting Events Limited …
Epic to contribute $100 million to Fortnite esports in 2019
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
Epic Games is set to invest a whole lot of money into the competitive Fortnite scene. The publisher has revealed its plans for the 2019 competitive season, outlining a series of weekly events and formally announcing the Fortnite World Cup. What’s more, it revealed that there will be $100 million on the line for pro players who compete, with $30 million up for grabs at the World Cup. The build …
Ninja has lost 90% of his Twitch subscribers
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is no longer the most-subscribed broadcaster on Twitch. Over the past 10 months, Ninja has lost 90 percent of his subscribers, going from a record-breaking 263,000 to just over 26,000. He is now the 11th most-subscribed person on Twitch, falling behind such personalities as Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek and Felix “xQc” Lengyel. Not to be confused with followers, Twitch subscribers make a monthly payment to a …
Driftboarding comes to Fornite with patch 7.40
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite’s 7.40 content update has introduced the Driftboard as a limited time item. The Driftboard allows players to pull off a variety of stylized skateboard tricks while hovering off the ground at high speed. In an ode to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series games, the word “Wasted” appears accompanied by the sound of vinyl being scratched when players fail to land an attempted trick. While the Driftboard is also …
Ninja to launch new line of toys
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite superstar streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has found a new way to entertain his fans away from the screen, as the famous gamer is launching a line of branded toys. The toys premiered at the New York Toy Fair. Wicked Cool Toys has created a collection of figures, plush, and even a wig, all featuring Ninja’s signature blue hair and yellow headband. One of the figures is part of a …
Free battle pass, skins, and nerfs hit Fortnite in patch 7.40
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
Epic Games is showing Fortnite fans a lot of love this Valentine’s Day. The 7.40 patch has dropped with a number of surprises. In addition to the usual bug fixes and balance tweaks, Epic is giving players the opportunity to earn free skins and even a free Season 8 Battle Pass. The centerpiece of the patch is a set of 13 Overtime Challenges. Completing each challenge gives various rewards including …
Fortnite Secret Skirmish rules have pro players livid
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
The build towards Fortnite’s Secret Skirmish event has not been wholly positive. While the tournament is set to be one of the year’s biggest, featuring a $500,000 prize pool and a long list of top pro players competing, a pair of controversial rules enacted by Epic have competitors grumbling in the days leading up to the event. “The idea of traveling for two days for a forced peripheral LAN is …
Free cosmetics, ranked mode in Fortnite’s Share the Love event
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
Epic is giving Fortnite players a gift for Valentine’s Day, and it isn’t a stuffed bear. From February 8 to 27 the popular battle royale will host the “Share the Love” event, celebrating the most romantic holiday of the year. Festivities will be spread across 19 days, and will offer players the chance to earn a variety of rewards. For the majority of players, the centerpiece of the event is …
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.
