If you didn’t live under a rock you’ve probably heard about the huge multiplayer battle royale, Fortnite. But we think Fortnite did much more than just make a great game with unique mechanics. “Epic Games” the developer and publisher of Fortnite created a cross-platform game that became a social phenomenon. I believe Fortnite got to where it is today thanks to hard work, dedication, constant updates, and groundbreaking live events. People around the world are familiar with Fortnite even if they aren’t gamers.
Fortnite as manages to create record-breaking live events that helped the game gain a massive following. The live events include a live concert of Marshmello, the DJ performed as an in-game character for around 10 minutes while 10.7 million people attended the concert, which set on all-time record of an in-game event; back to November, 8.3 million people witnessed the destruction of a strange purple cube. Fortnite as manages to draw an audience 100 times larger the all-time record of the audience of a real world live concert, who has around 100,000 people. Can we see a future where online friends and social events mixing? Personally, I think that in the not so distant future we will witness deep and strong personal connections and even romantic connections being built on online platforms including Fortnite.
Fortnite, like every business, aspires to make as much money as possible. A big part of that is maintaining a large and consistent player base. One of the ways Fortnite is doing that is by incorporating the live events that will encourage players to invest time and money in the game. Players feel they can do and experience a lot more than just play the battle royale. They are invested and intrigued by the complex lore and the journey they are taking part in.
Another example of cross-platform content is the collaboration between Fortnite and Marvel Studios. One year ago as a gesture to the premiere of Marvel Avengers Infinity War, Fortnite introduced a new game mode that gave players the opportunity to play as Thanos. The game mode was a great success and proved how powerful can cross-platform events get. Last week, exactly one year later, a new Fortnite/Marvel game mode named “End Game” Came out. the game mode ables the player to play his favorite characters from the Marvel cinematic universe. Imagine the massive user engagement that can come out of cross-platform events.
I truly think we can expect AAA titles to continue blurring the line between real life social events and online events up to a point that norm.
With games like Fortnite changing the boundaries of what is possible in a virtual environment, it’s only a matter of time before we will enter the OASIS. The movie “Ready Player One” shows us a not so sci-fi future. In the movie people prefer to spend their time playing in a virtual world called the OASIS, they’re living two separate lives, buying things in the OASIS and in real life. And then starting to live double lives.
