Fortnite
Fortnite
Isaac Clarke Fortnite skin gets you V-Bucks, here’s how
Nicholas James
Fortnite is full of skins of characters from other intellectual properties, and Dead Space is the latest video game to join. Here’s how to unlock the Isaac Clarke Fortnite skin. The Isaac Clarke Fortnite skin is a bit unique compared to other skin packs in that it actually helps refund you the V-Bucks spent on purchasing it. Unlike some other skins that are available through the Battle Pass but require …
Fortnite
How to unlock the Geralt Fortnite skin from The Witcher
Nicholas James
Geralt of Rivia is making his way into Fortnite as a part of Chapter Four, so here’s how to unlock the Geralt Fortnite skin. Fortnite is comfortably the AAA game with the most external licensing instances. It’s filled to the brim with characters from different intellectual properties that would never before have been seen together. Nowhere else will you find Master Chief, Goku, and Indiana Jones fighting Doom Guy and …
Fortnite
The best places to drop in Fortnite Chapter 4
Nicholas James
If you’re looking for new places to land in the new Fortnite season, here are the best places to drop in Fortnite Chapter 4. The new Fortnite chapter has brought with it an entirely new map with new locations. This means that players have had to find new favorite spots to start the game. From secluded secret treasures that most enemies avoid to the best named locations to scrap it …
Fortnite
Is a Fortnite FPS mode in the works?
Nicholas James
Rumors are circulating that Epic Games is looking at a Fortnite FPS mode, bringing Fortnite into the first-person shooter genre. Fortnite has become one of the most popular games in the world, outlasting many of its battle royale siblings, as a consistently third-person affair. Recent suggestions from data miners and leakers have suggested that Epic Games is preparing the groundwork to shift the game fundamentally. According to them, Epic Games …
Fortnite
Epic Games has to pay the FTC $520 million over Fortnite
Nicholas James
Epic Games is being made to pay the United States Federal Trade Commission, the FTC, $520 million over anti-consumer complaints about Fortnite. Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world, maintaining a multi-year presence in the gaming space as one of its juggernauts. However, one of the United States’ largest regulatory bodies has found developer Epic Games guilty of massive anti-consumer action, specifically relating to compliance with …
Fortnite
The best places for motorcycle tricks in Fortnite
Nicholas James
The new chapter has brought motorcycle tricks to Fortnite, here are the best spots to get sick jumps and tally up some trick points for bragging rights with your friends. Fortnite Chapter 4 added tons of new items and mechanics to the island, including the brand-new motorcycles that are rapidly becoming one of the most popular means of transport. In addition to being fantastic offroad transportation, they allow players to …
Fortnite
Fortnite fans still waiting for Family Guy crossover
Olivia Richman
Fortnite is known for its crossovers, but Family Guy has been suspiciously absent from the battle royale shooter. You’ll find superheroes, video game characters, anime protagonists, and even celebrities wandering around the same battle royale match, but the long-running animated comedy franchise has yet to be seen. Now, many Fortnite fans are predicting that Peter Griffin is next to join the fray. Rumors have been going around for months now …
Fortnite
The best Fortnite Augments in Chapter 4 Season 1
Nicholas James
The new Augment system has changed how Fortnite is played, allowing you to upgrade your playstyle throughout a match, and the best Fortnite Augments in Chapter 4 can completely change the game. The Augment system Fortnite is a fantastic new addition to the game, giving players the ability to choose between game-changing abilities to customize exactly how they want to play. Here’s our list of the best Augments early on …
How to enable 2FA in the Fortnite account settings
William Davis
Fortnite
One of the most important Fortnite account settings is two-factor authentication, often referred to as 2FA. This is the best way to protect your account from potential hacks and password leaks. Unfortunately, we live in a time and age where passwords can be compromised, and losing data is more common than we’d like. Game developers do everything in their power to protect their users, but it is the user’s responsibility …
Fortnite sued by parents for being dangerously addictive
Fariha Bhatti
Fortnite
A class-action lawsuit filed against Epic Games contends that Fortnite is highly addictive to the point where kids have panic attacks over the game’s pressure. According to the parents, their children — age 10 and 15 — are losing sleep over a game that is intentionally designed to cause addiction and they have hired a law firm, Calex, to represent them. Calex has drawn similarities with a recent tobacco industry …
New MrBeast Fortnite skin could win you $1 million
Nicholas James
Fortnite
The Fortnite Icon series brings popular content creators, streamers, and entertainers to Fortnite, and a MrBeast Fortnite skin is the next one to arrive. MrBeast is an absolutely massive YouTuber and content creator, knowdn for his over-the-top video concepts and contests. He’s already collaborated with Fortnite earlier this year when a promotion for his restaurant, MrBeast Burger, appeared as a part of the FNCS series. Now it seems like that …
The three best items in Fortnite Chapter 4
Nicholas James
Fortnite
Fortnite’s yearly change has brought tons of new content to the island, here are three of the best new weapons in Fortnite Chapter 4. As with any new chapter of the game, a bevy of new items and weapons have been unvaulted and added to the game. If you’re looking to switch up your playstyle from last season, here are some of the best new weapons in Chapter 4 that …
Fortnite Chapter 4 Oathbound quests part one guide
Nicholas James
Fortnite
The new Fortnite Chapter 4 Oathbound quests are here, kicking off the new chapter’s storyline, here’s everything you need to know. The new Fortnite Chapter has arrived, and there is a bevy of new quests to complete. If you haven’t finished your week zero quests yet, get on those first, as they will expire at the end of the week now. Once you’ve done those, the Chapter 4 Oathbound quests …
Fortnite Chapter 4 Week Zero quests
Nicholas James
Fortnite
Fortnite Chapter 4 has arrived, with the game’s island being completely remade from other locations. Here are the Fortnite Chapter 4 Week Zero quests. The ways that weekly quests work in Fortnite is changing, so now you’re going to have less time than usual to complete the quests assigned by Epic Games each week. While previous weekly quests would give fans the entire season to complete — allowing infrequent players …
What will the Fortnite Fracture Finale Event be?
Nicholas James
Fortnite
We’re one day away from the Fornite Fracture Finale Event, which launches on December 3 at 4pm ET. But what is going to happen when 2022’s chapter closes? The most recent season of Fornite has involved the mysterious arrival of the Chrome to the island, taking over vast swaths of land, converting livestock, buildings, vehicles, and even weapons to brand new forms. With the mysterious final event of the season, …
How to get the LeBron James Fornite items
Nicholas James
Fortnite
Fortnite has crossed over with all sort of media properties and real-life figures, but there’s likely none quite as iconic as basketball legend LeBron James, who has plenty of different items in Fortnite. Fortnite has taken to immortalizing some streamers, actors, and other famous figures with skins or non-player characters depicting them in the Icon Series. Basketball all-star and actor LeBron James is likely the largest name to collaborate with …
New Fortnite Chapter finale event Fracture announced
Nicholas James
Fortnite
The new Fortnite Finale Event for Chapter 3, Season 4, has been announced with the title Fracture, to take place on December 3, 20 at 4 pm ET. Fortnite has made an active effort to have every new season of the game feel unique. Season three, Chapter four has involved the mysterious Chrome trying to infect the island. This story arc is coming to its presumably climactic conclusion on December …
How to get the Chrome Punk skin in Fortnite for free
Nicholas James
Fortnite
There’s a spooky new skin available for free in Fortnite. Here’s how to get the Chrome Punk skin in Fortnite for free. Fortnite decided to bring back the Halloween season to fans with a brand new outfit available by completing some quests. They also did this with the Pickle Rick back bling, a Rick and Morty tie-in that you can claim by participating in the Zero Build Horde Rush game …
Mr. Beast Burger and Fortnite collaborate for FNCS
Nicholas James
Fortnite
The Mr. Beast Burger chain, founded by YouTuber Jimmy “Mr. Beast” Donaldson, is collaborating with Fortnite as a part of the FNCS. Mr. Beast seems to be all over esports these past few weeks, appearing on the League of Legends world championship broadcast at the grand finals to say he’d “100%” be buying an LCS team, and now collaborating with Fortnite. The collaboration was seen at the FNCS event and …
How to earn the Pickle Rick back bling in Fortnite for free
Nicholas James
Fortnite
A brand new Rick and Morty tie-in cosmetic is available in Fortnite, so here’s how to earn the Pickle Rick back bling by playing Zero Build Horde Rush. The new back bling was added as a way to incentivize players to try out Fortnite’s new PvE horde mode Zero Build Horde Rush. If players complete a series of Zero Build Horde Rush-exclusive quests, they can claim a Pickle Rick back …
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.
