By: Bryan Tropeano
For the millions of Fortnite players around the world, the end of season 10 this past Sunday came as quite a shock. Not because the season ended, that was expected, but because the end of the season resulted in the entire map sucking into a black hole and offering nothing else for 2 whole days.
This abrupt event, aptly called “The End,” resulted in many speculating that the game had, in fact, come to an end. With the popular battle royale game’s developers, Epic Games, offering only silence, there was no way to know what the future might hold and how long we would have to wait to find out.
I guess they called it “The End” for a reason. pic.twitter.com/WVFoyqvaYr
— DrLupo (@DrLupo) October 13, 2019
A leaked trailer on Monday finally hinted at what was to come. The trailer indicated that we would not see a season 11 but rather a whole new chapter in the era-defining game. Still, this little peek into what we could expect failed to hint at when we could expect it.
Well, after 36 hours of streaming nothing more than a black hole, Fortnite finally emerged from its slumber Tuesday morning, rebooted as Chapter 2: Season 1. This wasn’t a new season but instead plays almost like a new game.
The new game offers a ton of new content, weapons, and locations on a never-before-seen map. This constant update in the form of seasons, and now chapters, is a brilliant way to keep the reported 250 million registered players engaged. Owing to this strategy, the game hasn’t waned in popularity since its debut in 2017.
In fact, the game is so popular, there were some 400,000 people watching the black hole stream on Twitch. Those kinds of numbers shoot holes through the “post-Millennials have a short attention span” theory.
With its super popularity, it was only a matter of time before its inevitable foray into esports. Earlier this year saw the first Fortnite World Cup awarding $3 million to 16-year old Kyle Giersdorf.
It’s refreshing to see a game coming out with new and exciting ways to keep its loyal players engaged. Next time, I’d like to see them try something even bolder – maybe shut down the game for a whole month.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bryan Tropeano is a senior producer and a regular reporter for NewsWatch. He lives in Washington D.C. and loves all things Tech.
