Fortnite would have died almost 3 times since its release had Epic Games not acted correctly. You can find out the crass story behind the Battle Royale shooter here on MeinMMO.
Fortnite has a long history that not every player knows. Many precarious situations forced Epic Games to create Fortnite with its Battle Royale as many thousands of players know it today.
We take a closer look at these situations and show you how Epic managed to prevent so many deaths from Fortnite.
First Death – The PvE mode save the world
The end shortly after the beginning: Anyone who has been with Fortnite from the start is probably familiar with the Save the World PvE mode. This mode was supposed to carry the game post-release and generate revenue, but it wasn’t.
After about 7 years of development, Epic Games missed the hype surrounding the zombies and horde mode survival fights and so the game seemed to go straight back into oblivion – for now.
An emergency solution was needed so that Fortnite didn’t finally ship and that’s how the Battle Royale mode came into play. This was assembled in less than 10 weeks and integrated into the Fortnite launcher for free.
In line with the “Battle Royale” hype, based on the then over-game PUBG, Epic Games also tried its free game mode on Battle Royale and with great success. This is how Epic Games outwitted Fortnite’s first death, but that was just the beginning.
A new debacle was not long in coming.
Second Death – PUBG’s charge against PUBG’s Fortnite
A lawsuit dragged Epic Games to court: Success was not long in coming as when Epic Games released its Battle Royale mode, more than 10 million players flocked to the servers in less than 2 weeks.
Now Fortnite led the hype and the developers of PUBG noticed that. Without further ado, Epic Games was sued by Bluehole Studio. It was about serious allegations of plagiarism that PUBG submitted to the court:
The whole topic of Fortnite had a stale aftertaste, because the new mode actually seemed like an emergency solution on the part of Epic to take the hype surrounding PUBG with them. Fortnite was even more successful as the colorful BR shooter was offered for free unlike PUBG.
At the time, many were waiting for the trial, but it never took place. Bluehole Studio quietly withdrew its charges and without any statement (via polygon.com). To this day it is not known what drove the developers to take this step, but there are rumors that it has something to do with the company giant “Tencent”.
After this problem, the hype slowly died down and the next problem was already looming.
Third Death – Competitive or Casual Game?
Fortnite in the Identity Crisis: As the litigation died down and Fortnite started making more money from steady live events, battle passes, and skins, a new problem emerged: dwindling player counts.
The problem Epic Games struggled with was Fortnite’s identity. The Battle Royale should have a focus on a competitive player base for its release. It should be challenging and difficult. Pro players like Ninja, Tfue, Benjyfishy, and Myth were the faces of the game at the time and could show off their building skills in tournaments.
Good for the pros but bad for the casual players. Many could not do anything with the meta of “double pumps” and building at the time. Gradually the number of players dwindled and the developers noticed that too. A solution was needed and so one of the most formative PR campaigns in the history of gaming came about – the event with the black hole.
Fortnite: The time a black hole swallowed you all
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After the release of the second chapter, Epic Games rebooted the game. New map, weapons, bots, better building and a bigger focus on casual players. Gradually Fortnite changed from a competitive game towards a social game.
It was meant to be a fresh start, and Fortnite did too. Concerts by Travis Scott or Ariana Grande attracted many new players to the BR shooter and showed a side of the shooter that no player had ever seen in a game.
More and more Fortnite changed the strategy and even added a permanent no-build mode to bring the fun of Fortnite closer to players without building talent.
This is how Epic Games averted the third and final death of its game. It’s a long story, but it’s not finished yet.
The developers have shown again and again that they don’t let themselves be defeated and have skillfully taken their destiny into their own hands. So one thing is clear: Fortnite will continue to exist and for many more years to come.
How do you like the story? Do you think Epic Games got lucky? Let us know what you think about it in the comments.