Fortnite Battle Royale has a unique style that is so distinct it has become almost an aesthetic in its own right; with many similar games being accused of ripping off Fortnite or utilizing “Fortnite-like characters”, this phenomenon is nothing new, and previously, many titles were accused of ripping off Overwatch (and many did!) during its heyday.
Fortnite is colourful, fun, innocent and a little cheeky, and I can think of no better aesthetic for a title that enjoys an audience of all ages, from preschoolers to baby boomers and beyond.
Fortnite has always been a very diverse game, offering a wide selection of skin tones and style options since its earliest incarnation; this diversity has only grown as time has passed and now includes various body types, skin tones, cultures and even species.
Playing as a character you feel represents you is very important to many gamers, while I am happy to spend my days as a giant banana, not everyone will be.
Being able to play as a character that represents your personality goes a long way towards sustained engagement, + it’s a win-win for everyone involved. I would love to see more developers embrace this philosophy in the future.
Image credit Fortnite - Published and developed by Epic Games.
Fortnite Crew subscribers receive a monthly cosmetic set, 1000 vBucks, and access to the current season’s premium battle pass.
For most people, this subscription is not good value for money; however, for those who frequently purchase skins and vBucks, being able to subscribe for a single month at the start of a new season and receive 1000 vBucks, a skin set, access to that season’s battle pass for only £9.99 is good value for money, in addition to the currently active Rocket League Rocket Pass.
Previously, Fortnite Crew Subscribers would gain free access to Save the World; however, this promotion appears to be no longer active, indicating that Epic may finally be on the verge of making the mode free-2-play, as it is currently the only Epic Created mode that requires a separate purchase.
Image credit Fortnite - Published and developed by Epic Games.
Fortnite is easily accessible to a wide audience thanks to its support for all 8th and 9th-generation consoles, PCs and Android Devices.
While lower-end hardware cannot reach the visual or performance limits of higher-end consoles/PCs, Fortnite allows people to play together and experience all it offers in a platform-agonistic environment.
As the first title to offer full cross-play between all major gaming platforms, it has continued to enjoy phenomenal growth, well beyond the average for the genre; in December 2020, over 15.3 million concurrent players took part in an event to defeat the evil Galactus, with over 3.4 million more watching via Twitch and YouTube.
Image credit Fortnite - Published and developed by Epic Games.
With hundreds of official and unofficial game modes already available for free within the Fortnite client and Creative Mode 2.0 giving game creators the ability to design entirely new games and modes with complex objectives and custom models, Fortnite is well poised to become the leader in the upcoming metaverse revolution.
On April the 28th, 2023, five of the most popular Fortnite streamers announced they would be releasing their own battle royale inside of Fortnite, tentatively dubbed Project V; it is due to release in 2024, and with the backing of major names such as Ninja, TimTheTatman, CouRage, NICKMERCS, and SypherPK it is almost certainly going to be massive.
Image credit Fortnite - Published and developed by Epic Games.
Players are not the only ones getting in on the fun of making new games within Fortnite, with multiple Epic Game-owned studios getting in on the fun and releasing modes of their own, including Lego Fortnite (Epic Games), Rocket Racing (Psyonix), and Fortnite Festival (Harmonix).
Image credit Fortnite - Published and developed by Epic Games.
Unlike what its detractors would have you believe, the Fortnite community is nothing special, meaning it is not “full of sweaty neckbeards” or “full of toxic children” but comprises one of the most diverse gaming communities, attracting gamers of all ages and walks of life.
There are toxic elements of the community, and there are “angry squeakers”, but judging a community of over 350 million players by the actions of a small part of that community is immature and toxic in its own right.
Fortnite is a third person shooter video game developed and published by Epic Games, it was released on 21 July 2017 and it is Free-2-Play.
Fortnite is available on the following platforms: Android, Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Fortnite has continually received major updates for over six years, with new seasonal content dropping every 3–4 months and minor content updates occurring roughly every two weeks (excluding public holidays and summer vacation).
In addition to those moderate-sized content updates, the cosmetic store receives new items every few days, including crossovers with other franchises such as Street Fighter, Star Wars, DC Comics, Marvel, the Walking Dead, and more.
Fortnite is larger today than at any point in its history, with 100 million players logging in during November 2023 and millions of players logging in each day to play official and unofficial game modes, with modes such as Battle Royale (1.2M+) and Fortnite Lego (2.1M+) enjoying a seven-digit concurrent player count for much of the day, making the individual modes more active than most popular standalone games such as Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and PUBG: Battlegrounds.
In addition to official modes, hundreds of player-created modes enjoy health communities, with many modes having at least 5k players online, and some player created mods regularly seeing player counts noth of 50k active players during peak play times.
Image credit Fortnite - Published and developed by Epic Games.
Fortnite supports:
Fortnite offers the following matchmaking options:
The Fortnite in-game store sells:
The following peripherals are officially supported:
Fortnite is rated PEGI 12+ and contains:
Fortnite is one of the most influential games in history, frequently enjoying record-breaking engagement numbers.
While its cartoon aesthetic is not for everyone, frequent new items, mechanics, limited-time events, and fleshed-out game modes ensure Fortnite feels fresh well into its 6th year.
