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[Updated on August 1, 2024, to improve the content’s readability]
Fortnite is one of the most successful video games in history, with millions of players around the world. It’s not just an entertaining game; Fortnite is much more than that, having had a significant impact on the gaming world over the last two years. The game has changed the online gaming world forever and will presumably continue to do so for years to come.
One of the reasons for Fortnite‘s impact was its wide reach, with millions of players around the world. The game was immediately accessible to millions of players, thanks to its deployment on mobile devices, consoles, and PCs. This was a major key to its success.
Accessibility and Approachability
Originally, Fortnite: Battle Royale was released in January 2017 as a free download for a number of platforms. When the game was finally released for Android in March, Fortnite was an overnight success, becoming the top-selling app in over a dozen countries and raking in $1.5 million during its first week.
Fortnite’s gameplay has also made it a more widely accessible game than other online titles. It’s considered a shooter game for players who aren’t fond of hardcore shooters, as there are several game modes available that appeal to many different types of gamers.
Making Cross-Platform Gaming a Reality
Cross-platform gaming has been a rarity. For just about every title, if you and your friend have the same game on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, you would be unable to compete with one another. However, with its cross-platform capabilities, Fortnite made multiplayer gameplay much more accessible.
As such, a key factor to the success of Fortnite, cross-platform gaming, is now on the radar for many game developers. Gamers around the world are hopeful that they will soon be able to play any game with players on any other console.
The Battle Royale Invasion
Since Fortnite burst on to the online gaming scene in 2017, we have seen dozens of other games attempt to replicate its success. These are just a few of the popular battle royale games that have capitalized on the trend. Each one puts a new spin on the BR concept that was introduced by Fortnite:
- Apex Legends: an upcoming free-to-play battle royale slot from EA and Respawn Entertainment. Players are placed into squads of three, and up to 20 teams can compete in a match.
- Ring of Elysium: a survival-based battle royale game, where the player must fight their way off of a mountain after a snowstorm. There are only four spaces on the rescue flight, and 60 players must battle for the seats.
- Planetside Arena: a sci-fi game that features a Massive Clash mode where up to 500 players can compete on opposing teams.
- Mavericks: a very ambitious game with 1000-play battles with five-play teams. The game will be launched in 2019.
- H1Z1: a game in which up to 100 players compete in a deathmatch where the winner is the “last man standing.” As the game continues, toxic gas spreads across the map and deals damage to all of the players left in the game.
We’re sure to see many more, as BR continues to emerge as a hugely popular genre in the online gaming world, alongside first-person shooters, RPGs, and racing titles. We wouldn’t be surprised if other genres started to include battle royale modes to attract more players in the future.
Getting Celebrities on Board
Before Fortnite, you never really heard much about celebrities playing video games. There was no actual crossover between the two worlds, but Fortnite has changed that. Due to the huge popularity of Fortnite, the game has attracted the attention of stars around the world. In 2018, Ninja, a Fortnite streamer on Twitch, became an overnight celebrity when Drake and Travis Scott joined his game. As a result, that particular stream drew in over 600,000 viewers and raised $35,000 in revenue for Ninja.
As such, Fortnite is considered a major catalyst for Twitch streamers making the transition into Stardom. Players like Ninja, Dakotaz, and Tfue are now household names. Each one has accumulated millions of viewer hours and makes millions of dollars per year – and it’s all thanks to Fortnite.
Later that year, dozens more celebrities jumped on the Fortnite bandwagon. At the Celebrity Pro-Am tournament during E3, stars teamed up with members of the general public to compete for charity. Pete Wentz, Reggie Jackson, and Joel McHale were among the personalities who showed up to play Fortnite in support of good causes.
Expansion into Other Arenas
Fortnite has only been around for a few years, but we imagine it won’t be long before it begins to expand into other markets. Some players are already speculating about the game being made into a film and television show, like Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, and Assassin’s Creed.
There is even potential for Fortnite to be made into a casino game, as Tomb Raider, Call of Duty, and Street Fighter are just a few of the video games that have been given the online slots treatment. These brands have been made into casino games because of their huge popularity among a wide range of gamers. All of these games appeal to players of varying demographics—just like Fortnite does.
So, we’re looking forward to Fortnite expanding its reach even further. In the coming years, the game is sure to take over all sorts of other industries and attract many, many more fans.
