Why is Fortnite Still Popular
Fortnite is a free-to-play, battle royale with third-person shooting; exciting weapons, item choices, and interesting building mechanics. The game has its quirks and that is entirely on purpose. Players smash cars and fences with a pickaxe for more building parts, and loot items that can cause enemy players to dance uncontrollably in an area. Its whimsical nature is backed by raw mechanical skill and tactical team play. It looks downright silly compared to other shooter games. However, watch a popular twitch streamer for a couple of games; these are intense matches with tons of play-making moments.
In general, battle royale games rose in popularity with the release of Fortnite. This uprising caused several pre-existing titles to flex their IP in hopes to cash in on the genre. However, Fortnite has stuck around while many of these other titles have fallen off the map. The game’s predecessors: a modded Arma II (DayZ) and H1Z1; and its most obvious competition today, PUBG, all contribute to the popularity of the genre. The arguably clunky 3rd person aiming when compared to precision FPS like Counter-Strike and Valorant is justified by the epic story that is played out in each lobby. Dropping in onto a vast map and searching for loot to make the player stronger is only the beginning. The adrenaline spike that occurs when you encounter another player or team is what brings the players back match after match, day after day.
The graphics lend a hand to its popularity as well. They are cartoony and fun whilst PUBG is more realistic and serious. The stylish models and goofy weapon options invite a younger audience whose parents may disagree with the realism of other shooter games. In a sense, the graphics resemble that of League of Legends and World of Warcraft, both of which are extremely popular games well into their later years of development. Although the graphics tend to favor a younger audience, it is clearly not the only targeted demographic.
The release of Fortnite on Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo Switch put the game in the hands of several console gamers. The barrier of entry was reduced to give the console gamer the opportunity to compete. The cross-play availability, in opposition to many other online games, allows friends to connect PC to console or console to other console, and enjoy the game together. Other obvious benefits to the console include skipping the system requirements, playing with a controller, and the ease-of-access for streaming the game.
Successful Twitch streamers tend to have their finger on the pulse of what games sell. And to this day, the game consistently gets a lot of viewers. It maintains a top-ten ranking on https://twitchtracker.com/. It clearly has a strong following, peaking with hundreds of thousands of viewers on a daily basis. There are many lines to be drawn here on how a popular game is made more popular by the amount of attention it receives on streaming sites. It's sure to make it into any gamer’s library if their favorite streamer is playing it.
Someone would be hard-pressed to find a gamer who wasn’t aware of Fortnite and its impact. A parent might not understand it, but their kid took a video of them doing a Fortnite dance and laughed about it with their friends later. It is charming and it has made it to the mainstream. Going as far as manufacturing and selling toys. The in-game skins, taunts and dances keep it fresh. New weapons, items, and balance updates keep it fresh. It is free-to-play and that cannot be understated. Fortnite has adapted well and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.