New Update Maintains Fortnite’s Popularity
On Dec. 5, Fortnite introduced a new chapter to their game titled Chapter 3. In Fortnite, chapters are distinguished by their seasons; Chapter 1 had 10 seasons, Chapter 2 had eight seasons, and Chapter 3 is still yet to be determined. Each season brings with it a BattlePass: an addition which can be purchased and which grants exclusive rewards such as skins and V-bucks, Fortnite’s in-game currency, as one levels up throughout the season.
Fortnite made its debut in the gaming scene in July of 2017, and its popularity grew rapidly. According to an article by Culture Vultures, by August 2018 Fortnite had reached its peak with 78.3 million concurrent players, an impressive feat, since most games are predominately popular upon release. Video games are a lot like blockbuster movies, once the next big thing is released a lot of consumers jump to the newest item on the market; but that is not the case with Fortnite.
There are two main reasons for Fortnite’s longevity and popularity: its pop culture references and its building feature. Fortnite is a third-person shooter game that loves to include as many pop-related features as possible. These include emotes (dances and gestures) that are popular on TikTok, guest concerts from well known artists such as Ariana Grande, and skins (player cosmetics) from popular movies and TV shows such as Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) characters and Naruto characters. With the introduction of Chapter 3, Spiderman has entered the game as a playable character, joining a huge list of famous comic icons. Additionally, building has become a game changer. In most other shooting games, cover is acquired from the player’s own surroundings, but in Fortnite, one can build their own cover, providing opportunities that are unavailable in other traditional shooter games such as Call of Duty.
Upon the release of Chapter 3, millions experienced technical difficulties due to the massive amount of players trying to enjoy the release. Fortnite stated, “by far the most players we’ve ever seen at the launch of a season,” in a statement on Twitter addressing the reason why so many players were having trouble playing the game. With many new items and features introduced in Chapter 3 drawing old and new players in, Fortnite is showing no sign of slowing down.
