By: Nick Gambino
This year just refuses to go our way. It was just announced that season 3 of Fortnite has been delayed. Epic Games delivered the bad news yesterday.
To compound this not-so-great news, they’ve also delayed the next live event, The Device, until June 15th. The in-game live event was originally supposed to occur at the end of May. It was delayed until June 6 until the most recent announcement pushed it to June 15.
Fortnite’s Chapter 2 – Season 3 will launch June 17th, but this is the third time it’s seen a delay, with the first occurring back in April, so it would behoove you to take this newest announcement with a grain of salt. It’s wouldn’t be a shock if we saw another push announced next week.
None of this is exactly surprising with the vast uncertainties in the world right now. Just as COVID-19 seemed to be relatively under control, the atrocious murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked outrage and protests across not only the U.S. but the world.
“Recent events are a heavy reminder of ongoing injustices in society, from the denial of basic human rights to the impact of racism both overt and subtle against people of color,” the announcement by Epic Games said. “We are acutely aware of the pain our friends, families, team members, players and communities are experiencing.”
This follows in the footsteps of many other companies that are placing Black Lives Matter as a priority over commercial gain. This is the strongest show of unity I’ve ever seen in the movement and with this much solidarity we may actually get the reform we need.
On Tuesday, many on social media participated in Blackout Tuesday that saw accounts only posting black squares or information related to Black Lives Matter. While there were plenty of individuals participating in this effort to drown out other messages, focusing on the singularity of this important one, this is the first time I’ve seen countless corporations doing the same.
Fortnite is another in a long line and it’s heartening to see. Though, escapism still has its place in this world, so we hope to see an actual Season 3 launch on June 17.
