Fortnite
Fortnite
How to earn the Pickle Rick back bling in Fortnite for free
Nicholas James
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
All of the NPC locations for Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 4
Nicholas James
The new Fortnite season has brought new NPCs to interact with and buy items and services from. Here’s a full list of all NPC locations in Fortnite Chapter Three Season Four. Part of what sets Fortnite apart from its battle royale contemporaries is its frequent use of non-player characters, or NPCs, both hostile and non-hostile. Here’s an alphabetical list of the NPCs’ locations, from whom you can buy items and …
Fortnite
Star Wars returns to Fortnite with Skywalker week
Nicholas James
Star Wars in Fortnite is back, with lightsabers, E-11 blasters, and a villainous miniboss gracing the game for the next several days as a part of Skywalker Week. Fortnite has more IP crossovers with major universes and properties than most games could possibly hold, and one of those is back for a full week. Skywalker Week pays homage to the original Star Wars trilogy and brings back some fan-favorite mechanics …
Fortnite
How to beat Zero Build Horde Rush in Fortnite
Nicholas James
Fornite has brought back the Horde Rush mode for Halloween during Chapter Three Season Four. Looking to beat it as quickly and easily as possible? Here is how to beat Zero Build Horde Rush in Fortnite. Zero Build Mode has been an incredibly popular addition to Fortnite, taking away the game’s signature building mechanic in order to focus on gunplay, movement, and more typical shooter mechanics. This means you’ll need …
Fortnite
Newest Fortnite update adds Grapple Glove, DMR, and more
Fariha Bhatti
Fortnite chapter 3 season 4 hasn’t precisely been the most thrilling, but the latest V22.10 update will shake things up. Each Fortnite season brings exciting quests, challenges, and in-game items for players to sink their teeth into. However, the latest season 4 content was nothing to write home about, and Epic Games seems to be making amends in the newest patch. The developer has rolled out the season’s most significant …
Fortnite
Become A Goat in Fortnite in celebration of Goat Simulator 3
Olivia Richman
The latest Fortnite crossover is definitely a weird one as Goku and Spiderman will be joined by the likes of Goat Simulator. A skin inspired by Goat Simulator has come to Fortnite. And like the game that inspired it, the skin is quite comical. Here is how you can get your own buff Goat skin in Fortnite. Goat Simulator was launched in 2014, a game where players took the role …
Fortnite
Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 4 teasers hint at Spider-Gwen skin
Olivia Richman
Epic Games has revealed some interesting teasers for Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 4 including some highly anticipated skins, headlined by Marvel Comics’ Spider-Gwen. For the past few weeks, leakers have continued to spill information about the next season, including the possibility of Spider-Gwen joining the battle royale. Another rumor revolved around a skin for Meowscles that appeared possibly gothic in style. Epic Games was quiet for a while but eventually …
Fortnite
Late Game Arena returns to Fortnite, brings back Pump Shotgun
Olivia Richman
Late Game Arena has returned to Fortnite, bringing some of the community’s favorite weapons back including the Pump Shotgun. Fortnite announced on Twitter that the game mode has officially returned. Late Game Arena is a 60-player game mode that has competitors fighting to be the last squad standing using weapons, utility, and materials given to them at the beginning of each round. While this is not a new game mode, …
Is Breaking Bad coming to Fortnite? More crossovers may come
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
With crossovers continuing to be a hugely popular way to market games, publisher Epic Games is looking to bring even more of them to Fortnite. Breaking Bad and other popular properties may be coming next to Fortnite if a new survey is any indication. Fortnite is no stranger to crossovers. In 2022 alone the battle royale has seen Darth Vader, Goku, and Indiana Jones. It now looks like Epic Games …
Fortnite Icon radio station hints at possible Eminem crossover
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite may be getting another celebrity crossover, this time featuring rap music legend Eminem. Epic Games’ popular battle royale is no stranger to crossovers. In fact, that is one of the things that it’s best known for. Fortnite has had crossover events and cosmetics promoting Star Wars, Marvel, Rick and Morty, DC, Naruto, and League of Legends. Fortnite has also had crossovers with celebrities, including Ariana Grande and Travis Scott. …
What’s included in the Dragon Ball x Fortnite crossover?
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
The next big Fortnite crossover is coming, and it will seemingly feature the enduring anime series Dragon Ball. Fortnite has been described as a “pop culture singularity” in the past and that keeps on getting proven true. The battle royale has pulled characters from movies, televisions, and other video games and it’s making a hard run at anime these days. After the success of the Naruto x Fortnite crossover, another …
All about Bugha, Fortnite champion and esports star
William Davis
Fortnite
Fortnite player Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf is a household name in gaming, but what’s his true claim to fame? When it comes to esports prize pools, Fortnite has been among the most lucrative games in the world. The most successful players in the game have earned millions of dollars in prizes, and Bugha stands atop them all. Bugha is one of the highest-paid esport players thanks to his victory at the …
What is Fortnite GeoGuessr and how do you play it?
Fariha Bhatti
Fortnite
Do you think you know Fortnite back to front? A new game will put your knowledge to the test. Here’s how to play Fortnite GeoGuessr. Fortnite has over a dozen futuristic locations that mold with season changes. Weather, accidents, and catastrophes significantly impact each map’s appearance across new Fortnite chapters. For these reasons and others, players may have difficulty remembering the scenery of the map’s locations. But Fortnite fanatics may …
Fortnite hints at a possible Baller event in the near future
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
The controversial Baller vehicle may be making a comeback in Fortnite very soon. The Baller used to be a largely hated vehicle in Fortnite that competitive players found to be a bit overpowered. It offered incredible mobility and gave players a huge advantage during rotation while also protecting players from incoming damage. Pros have spoken out about their hatred of the Baller in the past. Since then, the Baller rarely …
Here are the Fortnite and Magic: The Gathering crossover cards
William Davis
Fortnite
Fortnite and Magic: The Gathering fans can enjoy two of their favorite games at once with a special set of crossover cards. Magic: The Gathering has revealed its upcoming collection of crossover cards with Fortnite. The card game and battle royale teamed up to create Magic cards featuring art and imagery from the popular game. These cards are legal for use in many formats, but not all of them. The …
This is why Cented was kicked out of FaZe Clan
Steven Rondina
Fortnite
Evan “Cented” Barron is out of FaZe Clan following his use of a racial epithet. On July 3, a clip of a stream that included Cented made the rounds with an individual using a racial epithet. The individual was identified as Cented, and in short order FaZe Clan issued a response. The organization announced that Cented was removed from the team, effective immediately. Cented corroborated this but stated the two …
Naruto x Fortnite returns with Itachi, Gaara, and Orochimaru
William Davis
Fortnite
After the successful debut with Naruto and Sasuke, new Naruto skins are headed to Fortnite. Fortnite continues to add more anime characters to its battle royale, with four more skins from the anime and manga series Naruto. Four new characters are coming, with Gaara, Hinata Hyuga, Itachi Uchiha, and Orochimaru joining the fray. The group will come with a special event called The Nindo that offers players free rewards. The …
Will Fortnite have first-person view mode? Here’s what we know
Fariha Bhatti
Fortnite
Fortnite is a battle royale at the core, but a recent leak suggests that the game could be breaking with tradition. Here’s everything we know about the highly-anticipated first-person mode in Fortnite. Epic Games tried an exciting experiment with Fortnite recently in Zero Build Mode. For years, many had considered building as Fortnite’s selling point, but Epic giving players the option to remove it paid off. A plethora of players …
Get paid for playing Fortnite with Drop-In Gaming tournaments
William Davis
Fortnite
Every Fortnite player’s dream is to get paid cold hard cash for their skills, and Drop-In Gaming tournaments are a chance to turn that dream into reality. Online tournament host Drop-In Gaming is hosting paid Fortnite events for gamers on the rise. Top-performing players can earn hundreds of dollars by placing highly in solos, duos, and team events. Drop-In also hosts free contests for aspiring players looking to gain tournament …
When is the next season of Fortnite coming? Here’s what we know
Olivia Richman
Fortnite
Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2 is just starting, bringing new weapons and a new Battle Pass. But Fortnite fans are already wondering about Chapter 3 Season 3. Building has been removed from Fortnite in a new game mode, bringing back lapsed fans and players. Once again, streamers are dropping into the battle royale to have fun, meaning more eyes are on the game than in the previous year. It’s no …
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.
