Fortnite is an Online game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: Fortnite Battle Royale, a battle royale game in which up to 100 players fight to be the last person standing; , a cooperative hybrid tower defense-shooter game and survival game game in which up to four players fight off zombie-like creatures and defend objects with traps and fortifications they can build; Fortnite Creative, in which players are given complete freedom to create worlds and battle arenas; Lego Fortnite, an open world game collection divided between survival game Lego Fortnite Odyssey and social game Lego Fortnite Brick Life; Rocket Racing, a racing game; Fortnite Festival, a rhythm games game; and Fortnite Ballistic, a tactical first-person shooter currently in early access. All game modes except Save the World are free-to-play.
Save the World and Battle Royale were released in 2017 as early access titles, while Creative was released on December 6, 2018. While the Save the World and Creative versions have been successful for Epic Games, Fortnite Battle Royale in particular became an overwhelming success and a cultural phenomenon, drawing more than 125 million players in less than a year, earning hundreds of millions of dollars per month. Fortnite as a whole generated in gross revenue up until December 2019, and it has been listed among the greatest games of all time.
Save the World is available for macOS, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, while Battle Royale and Creative were released for all those platforms as well as Android and iOS devices and Nintendo Switch. The game also launched with the release of the ninth-generation PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 consoles. Furthermore, Lego Fortnite, Rocket Racing, Fortnite Festival, and Fortnite Ballistic are available on all platforms.
In addition to these modes, Fortnite offers the sandbox game mode, Fortnite Creative. Within this mode, players are given complete freedom to spawn any item from the Battle Royale gamemode on a personal island, and can create games such as battle arenas, race courses, Platform game challenges, and more. Furthermore, it also supports Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), which allows players to edit worlds using Fortnite assets. Creative and UEFN also allows players to create custom Fall Guys and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games which can be accessible within the Fortnite launcher.
All modes except Save the World are free-to-play; Save the World is pay-to-play. The games are monetized through the use of V-Bucks, in-game currency that can be purchased with real-world funds, but also earned through completing missions and other achievements in Save the World. In other modes, V-Bucks can be used to buy cosmetic items such as character models or the game's battle pass, a tiered progression of customization rewards for gaining experience and completing certain objectives during the course of a Battle Royale season. The battle pass originally was aimed to support Fortnite Battle Royale, and with the expansion of game modes in 2023, two addition passes were added, the Festival Pass for Fortnite Festival and Lego Pass for Lego Fortnite, each which required progression in those modes to receive rewards. In November and December 2024, Epic changed these mechanics, allowing both of those passes to be progressed through experience points earned in any Fortnite game mode, as well as renaming the Festival Pass to Music Pass. Similarly, the Fortnite Crew, a monthly subscription that paid for the cost of the main battle pass and additional cosmetics, was expanded during the same time to encompass the Music and Lego passes.
All modes of Fortnite are cross-platform play compatible, requiring users to use an Epic Games account for cross-saving between platforms.
Epic was able to prepare to release Fortnite as a paid early access title in July 2017, with plans to release it as free-to-play sometime in 2019 while gaining feedback from players to improve the game. With the release of Fortnite Battle Royale, the player-versus-environment mode was distinguished as "Save the World". Ultimately, Epic opted to release Save the World as a premium title, bringing it out of early access on June 29, 2020.
In October 2023, Epic redesigned the main Fortnite client to present Epic's own various modes as well as the numerous creative modes as part of Fortnite Experiences, comparable to Roblox in presentation. This was followed by the introduction of three new Epic-developed modes for the game in December 2023: Lego Fortnite, a survival game developed in conjunction with The Lego Group, Rocket Racing, an arcade-style driving game developed by Psyonix, and Fortnite Festival, a rhythm game developed by Harmonix. Each mode was introduced as free-to-play, interfacing with the game's battle pass system, and offering new rewards associated with those modes.
Numerous improvements in UEFN were announced in March 2024, including the addition of Unreal Engine's MetaHuman character rendering technology, and more assets from Lego, Rocket Racing, and Fall Guys. Epic also stated their intent to have future Fortnite Battle Royale seasons starting in late 2025 to be developed in UEFN.
Fortnite Battle Royale became a significant financial success for Epic Games, leading them to separate the teams between Save the World and Battle Royale to provide better support for both modes. Within two weeks of release, over 10 million players had played the mode, and by June 2018, just after the Nintendo Switch release, had reached 125 million players. Revenue from Fortnite Battle Royale during the first half of 2018 had been estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars per month, with total 2018 revenue estimated at by analysis firm SuperData Research. Total revenue for Fortnite reached more than by the end of 2019.
Fortnite Battle Royale has also become a cultural phenomenon, with several celebrities reporting they play the game, and athletes using Fortnite as victory celebrations. A notable streaming event in March 2018, with streamer Ninja playing Fortnite Battle Royale alongside Drake, Travis Scott, Kim Dotcom, and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, broke viewership records for Twitch to date, and led to Epic arranging a Fortnite Battle Royale pro–am with 50 pairs of streamers and professional players matched with celebrities at E3 2018 in June 2018. Epic Games has developed organized esports competitions around Fortnite Battle Royale, such as the inaugural Fortnite World Cup tournament that took place in July 2019 and the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS), the latter of which would be organized by Epic Games in 2020 and 2021 before being organized by Blast ApS from 2022 onwards.
There has also been growing concern over Fortnite Battle Royale draw toward young children, emphasized with the release of the mobile client. Parents and teachers had expressed concern that students are being distracted and drawn away from school work due to playing Fortnite. Concerns have also been raised about the impact that playing a game involving repeated depictions of gun violence may have on young children.
2017 | The Game Awards 2017 | Best Multiplayer | ||
2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project ( A Hard Day's Night) | ||
21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay | |||
SXSW Gaming Awards 2018 | Excellence in Multiplayer | |||
Excellence in Gameplay | ||||
14th British Academy Games Awards | Evolving Game | |||
Multiplayer | ||||
2018 Webby Awards | People's Voice Award for Best Multiplayer/Competitive Game | |||
Game Critics Awards 2018 | Best Ongoing Game | |||
Develop Awards | Best Animation | |||
Teen Choice Awards | Choice Videogame | |||
BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards | Best Game ( Fortnite Battle Royale) | |||
Golden Joystick Awards 2018 | Best Competitive Game | |||
Mobile Game of the Year | ||||
Ultimate Game of the Year ( Fortnite Battle Royale) | ||||
The Game Awards 2018 | Best Multiplayer Game | |||
Best Mobile Game | ||||
Best Ongoing Game | ||||
Best Esports Game | ||||
Gamers' Choice Awards | Fan Favorite Game | |||
Fan Favorite Multiplayer Game | ||||
Fan Favorite eSports Game | ||||
Fan Favorite Battle Royale Game | ||||
Fan Favorite eSports League Format (Community Skirmishes) | ||||
2019 | 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Online Game of the Year | ||
15th British Academy Games Awards | Evolving Game | |||
Mobile Game | ||||
Famitsu Awards | Excellence Prize | |||
2019 Webby Awards | Best Multiplayer/Competitive Game | |||
Game Critics Awards 2019 | Best Ongoing Game | |||
Golden Joystick Awards 2019 | Still Playing | |||
eSports Game of the Year | ||||
The Game Awards 2019 | Best Ongoing Game | |||
Best Community Support | ||||
Best eSports Game | ||||
Best eSports Event (Fortnite World Cup) | ||||
2020 | 16th British Academy Games Awards | Evolving Game | ||
2020 Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Video Game | |||
The Game Awards 2020 | Best Ongoing Game | |||
Best Community Support | ||||
Best eSports Game | ||||
Best of Galaxy Store Awards | Game of the Year 2020 | |||
2021 | 2021 Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Video Game | ||
2022 | The Game Awards 2022 | Best Community Support | ||
Best Ongoing Game | ||||
2023 | The Game Awards 2023 | Best Ongoing Game | ||
2024 | 20th British Academy Games Awards | Evolving Game | ||
EE Game of the Year | ||||
Equinox Latam Game Awards | Battle Royale | |||
Ongoing Game | ||||
The Game Awards 2024 | Best Ongoing Game | |||
Best Community Support |
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