The OG season in Fortnite is over, “Underground” is the new theme. And the break is more severe than you think – at least if you had just gotten used to the “old” Fortnite again, says MeinMMO author Max Handwerk.
A pretty special month in Fortnite history has come to an end. The old map returned and brought more than just nostalgia with it. Of course, not everything was exactly as it used to be – but the familiar terrain and the new edition of beloved features exuded a magic that really excited the Fortnite community.
How much, however, Epic apparently didn’t expect. At least that’s what a post from December 2nd on the official Fortnite channel on X.com says. It says:
We’re not going to lie, the OG season far exceeded our expectations.
So much so that we want to bring them back… *opens 2024 roadmap doc*
Until then, see you on the Battle Bus
Fortnite on X.com
So OG will return in 2024, which isn’t too surprising given some of the numbers. Among other things, Epic reported that players in the OG season broke a monthly record, with 100 million players in November (via X.com). At the start of the season, Fortnite also celebrated its “biggest day ever,” with more than 44.7 million players (via X.com).
The look into the past attracted real crowds of players. Now Fortnite has to deliver in order to keep people. Epic is currently trying to do this with a veritable truckload of innovations – which is cool, but also makes the jump to the new season quite abrupt.
Fortnite: The new season looks completely different again
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What’s going on here all of a sudden?
For me, the return to the OG season wasn’t just a nostalgic tour through well-known places, it also noticeably showed how the gameplay has changed more or less gradually over the years. In the OG season, the weapon pool, the map and the classic vehicles made for gameplay that could almost be described as “relaxing”.
You could land in a relaxed manner, go looking for loot and deal with weapons that could rarely surprise you. On mountains you were usually quite undisturbed and could see threats from a long distance – even the old “disguising as a bush” trick ensured one or two successes. Enemies rarely appeared “out of nowhere”, and of course you knew the old map by heart.
Now Fortnite has returned to its “normal form” and is adding a whole truckload of innovations on top of it. A few of them are:
And, one particularly noticeable change for me: the storm is, at least it feels, moving much faster. This in conjunction with all the innovations creates a battle royale that suddenly plays completely differently than in the exceptional OG season.
Suddenly you’re constantly on the move again, always in danger of being caught off guard by the storm or opponents while you’re still trying to get used to the changed movement. The new weapons are difficult to assess and adjusting to them will take time.
If you’ve been following Fortnite for years, you’re used to changes, and personally I always find it very exciting when Fortnite reinvents itself. At the same time, the change to the new season is so significant, especially in comparison to OG, that at first I thought to myself: “What is suddenly going on here?”
Imagine if someone started playing Fortnite two weeks ago and decided to check it out again today without really noticing the event. You would probably ask yourself for a moment whether this is really the same game.
How do you see the topic? Do you think the new season is strong and are you excited about new developments, or would you like to have OG back? Take part in our survey:
Fortnite seems to be going all-in when it comes to innovations: In the coming days, completely new aspects such as a new Rocket Racing mode and a Guitar Hero-like “Fortnite Festival” will also be coming into play. Although they seem to take place separately from “Battle Royale”, it still feels as if Fortnite is entering a new era.
The collaboration with Lego also seems to be getting bigger: Here you can find everything about the Lego crossover in Fortnite, which starts this week.