No other game has become the pinnacle of the gaming world the way Fortnite did in 2017. Fortnite Battle Royale wasn’t just the biggest game that year — it was a cultural phenomenon that took the world by storm!
From kids who played the game on their Nintendo Switch to professional gamers who duked it out in official competitions, this game became a way of life for millions of players. Because of Fortnite’s popularity, it even managed to close the door on Minecraft as the most successful game since it was released in 2011.
However, it’s been years now. So, is it still the most popular video game today? With so many battle royale games to compete against in the battle royale genre, many people assume that Fortnite isn’t doing as well as it once did.
You might be surprised that it’s keeping up with the recent last-man-standing video games such as Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and more.
So, why is Fortnite so popular among esports fans, even after all these years? We’ll cover this and more below.
- What is Fortnite?
- So, Why is Fortnite so Popular?
- Why is Fortnite so Popular with Children?
- Is Fortnite Appropriate for Kids?
- Do Adults Play Fortnite?
- Fortnite’s Competition
- Is Fortnite Still Popular in 2022?
What is Fortnite?
If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years and have no idea what Fortnite is, we’re talking about the online game Epic Games developed and released in September 2017. It has three separate game modes that follow the same gameplay and use the same game engine:
- Fortnite Battle Royale: A free-to-play game where as many as 100 players come together in a fight to become the last player standing.
- Fortnite Save the World: This is a co-op crossed with tower-defense survival and shooter game where up to four players collaborate to fight off zombie-like enemies while defending the fortifications they build.
- Fortnite Creative: A world where players have complete freedom to make battle arenas and create worlds.
While the Battle Royale and Save the World modes came out earlier in 2017, Creative came out a year later, in December 2018. All three game modes were considered successful, with its Creative mode attracting over 125 million players in just a year.
From its release until December 2019 alone, Fortnite generated $9 billion in gross revenue. While Save the World was only made available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and macOS systems, the Battle Royale and Creative modes were available across all platforms, including Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices as a mobile app.
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So, Why is Fortnite so Popular?
There are plenty of reasons why people still love to play Fortnite, even years after it first blew up. Apart from concurrent players, new players join in for each new season because of the following.
It’s Free and Easy
It was no easy feat for Epic Games to create such a stable game with a simple interface, making it easy for newbies to join in on the fun. What’s more, Fortnite is completely free — a much better deal than its main competitor, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Better known as PUBG, this game came out in the same year, priced at $30.
Because it’s available throughout a wide range of gaming platforms, Fortnite can be enjoyed by the whole family at once. In addition, you can play using a console while a family member uses a PC and another joins on their Switch, so there’s no need to buy more than one of the latest gaming consoles to have fun as a family.
Between the unbeatable price, availability on many platforms, and low barrier to entry, this game is incredibly accessible to players of all ages.
Intuitive Design
There are two main things that make Fortnite’s battle royale mode a great experience:
- The thrill of taking down enemies and looking forward to their loot drops
- The wide range of weapons and gadgets encourage players to specialize and customize their characters
Through the Battle Royale game mode, players can feel the excitement of using a heavy sniper rifle, but going in for the kill isn’t just about having excellent shooting skills. Instead, Fortnite gives the feeling of being on a hunt, where there are corresponding risks and rewards with each move you make.
Another element that makes Fortnite such a popular game to this day is the style in which it’s presented. The world itself is cartoonish, using bright colors to set itself apart from the dark and forbidding environments you see in most other multiplayer shooting games.
Exciting Mechanics
Unlike some of the most popular games in the same genre, Fortnite allows players to play with different skills, where many are optional. It’s also a great stealth game; many players can come out on top without having to fire their weapons once.
The game also encourages Fortnite players to collect resources to build towers, explore the world, find loot chests, and locate the perfect hiding spots. While the building mechanic is easy enough for every age group to understand, it’s challenging enough that you’ll need to keep practicing to master it.
The building part of the game is also particularly exciting since there aren’t many build-and-battle games available on the market. While big FPS games keep looking for ways to give something fresh to their players, the fort-building in Fortnite allows players to release their creativity while still getting in on the action.
Social Elements
Games on Fortnite can be easily shared through social media, where Twitch streams make up a big part of the game’s social media presence. Professional streamer Ninja and celebrities like Drake have gathered record-setting audiences while playing online.
With as many as 100 people participating every round, you’ll have endless opportunities to go back in time and see your triumphant moments again. Even if you don’t share your videos on social media, friends and families still benefit from socializing by playing together or taking turns.
Frequent Updates
Fortnite Battle Royale stays fresh by providing players with new maps, new features, and even live events. However, rather than being the game itself, progression and personalization are the sources of the game’s monetization.
While in-game purchases might stack up over time, they only cost a couple of bucks each and go towards many hours of gameplay. In addition, some of these purchases may include your favorite characters, like John Wick, Star Wars characters, and more.
You can even find a Travis Scott outfit in Fortnite, which can be purchased through the Item Shop for 1,500 V-Bucks, the in-game currency. While players used to be able to make these purchases through the app store, the team moved such purchases to the Epic Games store in 2020.
Why is Fortnite so Popular with Children?
A few years after its initial success, Fortnite: Battle Royale is still one of the biggest video games for kids. But the question remains unanswered; why is Fortnite so popular with children?
Well, the short answer is this: once you play for a few hours, you’ll see why both kids and adults love it. One of the most apparent reasons why kids love playing Fortnite is because it provides the ultimate mash-up of some of the world’s most popular titles, including:
- Call of Duty
- The Hunger Games
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Fortnite effectively takes the best elements from existing game interfaces and storylines to weave them into one refined game. The game is also known for its funny character emotes and bright colors, which are particularly eye-catching and exciting for kids.
However, just like any other popular multiplayer video game, there are a few things that parents need to know about if their kids are Fortnite aficionados.
Is Fortnite Appropriate for Kids?
Playing Fortnite with the kids can be a great way to bond and spend time together. Even if it has many of the defining characteristics of a multiplayer last-man-standing video game, it can be deemed suitable for children because of the following:
- The colorful, cartoon-like characters and visuals
- The lack of blood and gore
- The game’s sense of humor
- The light-hearted nature of the competition
- The various outfits and fun dances
Because of these features, many parents leave their kids to play without constant supervision or worry that they’ll encounter something super violent. However, there are a few dangers that you’ll need to look out for to ensure that your kids can keep having fun safely:
Screen Time
If left unmonitored, kids can quickly go through their day without doing anything apart from playing. When they don’t do anything else, it’s too easy to become obsessed or addicted to the game, so pay attention to how much time they spend with the game.
To keep them under control, use the parental controls on your console or use monitoring software for their mobile devices, tablets, or PCs.
Chat Feature
Since Fortnite is a multiplayer game, kids will play against many players, many of whom they won’t know. This means that they may potentially encounter safety issues, like befriending impostors, hearing foul or offensive language, and cyberbullying.
Be sure to talk to your kids about the dangers of online gaming. If you feel that it’s affecting them negatively, you can turn the chat function off from the game’s settings menu.
Stress/Anxiety
Fortnite has been structured to deliver a fast-paced, highly-competitive experience where there’s only one winner per round. So naturally, this means that the odds will be stacked against each player, and when they lose, temperamental players can erupt in anger.
Be sure to monitor the mood of your kids as they play. If they seem genuinely upset with each loss, discuss the importance of a healthy emotional outlook when it comes to gaming.
In-App Purchases
While Fortnite is free to download, the expenses can pile up quickly if you don’t restrict your kids from making in-app purchases when playing. Kids can easily exchange real money for virtual money to buy items like skins, weapons, battle passes, and more.
While it’s important for kids to be able to express themselves, it’s best to set a hard limit on their purchases. After all, you don’t want to find unauthorized purchases on your credit cards. The best way to keep your kids from overspending is to only allow them in-game currency through prepaid gift cards; do not link your card to their account.
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Do Adults Play Fortnite?
Unlike other game developers, Fortnite was able to bridge the gap between the many different gaming platforms available. Because of this, it has become one of the biggest names in the gaming world. In addition, contrary to the belief that Fortnite is a “game for kids,” the game caters to older players even though most of its players are young adults.
As a result, Fortnite has a gaming community that extends far and wide across all platforms and age groups. In fact, the famous comedians popularly known as “The McElroy Brothers” garner large audiences by streaming Fortnite on YouTube, despite the fact that the three brothers are in their mid-thirties to early forties.
Fortnite’s Competition
While Fortnite is one of the most recognizable battle royale titles today, there are many games that came before it, such as:
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
- Rocket League
- League of Legends (LOL)
- Defense of the Ancients (DOTA)
- Overwatch
However, there have also been newer additions to the genre in the past year, including:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Valorant
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- Apex Legends
As a result, the battle royale genre shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Despite these new additions, Fortnite is still one of the top games in this genre, with fans from every area and generation.
Is Fortnite Still Popular in 2022?
While there are naysayers who believe that Fortnite is losing significance, they might be surprised by the truth. There are more than 350 million registered players and between 2.5 – 4 million monthly active users on Fortnite.
Because Epic Games is constantly coming up with new ways to make the game enjoyable, including frequent collaborations with different franchises, there are still millions of people who join the arenas of Fortnite from all available platforms.
As such, plenty of fans are willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on in-game purchases, making it unlikely that Fortnite will slow down any time soon. Here are a few statistics about the strength of the Fortnite community and its current popularity that may surprise you:
- Fortnite is the #7 most-streamed game on Twitch in 2022
- The highest number of viewers recorded on a single Twitch stream was for a Fortnite game
- 77% of players on Fortnite have made at least one purchase in-game
- Around 62.7% of all players on Fortnite are 18 – 24 years old
- Most players on Fortnite are from Brazil and the USA
If you or your kids are planning to get started with Fortnite, head straight to Epic Games to download it for free and get started — there’s still a vibrant and active community waiting for you there.
