How will Fortnite play out as an esport?
The popular battle royale game is a fascinating use case for how esports can play out for such a flexible game.
The YouTuber and Twitch streamer tournament that has taken the gaming community by storm in recent weeks, otherwise known as Fortnite Friday, has brought forth an interesting dilemma for the future of Fortnite esports. Before this tournament took place it was pretty easy to see the future of Fortnite esports. It would likely just be a typical Battle Royale esports league with teams of four and the classic tournament layout.
However the success of Fortnite Friday the last few weeks and the Ninja Vegas Event has made me ponder what a successful iteration of Fortnite competition looks like. It seems to have made Epic Games think about the future of their games’ esports future looks like as well. On top of the viewing success, Epic Games also announced they would be pumping 100 million dollars in the esports future. This announcement was probably on the way before Fortnite Fridays was even conceived, but the timing brought forth the possibility of an expanded future of competitive Fortnite.
This game is so dynamic and popular that the possibilities of different celebrity tournaments and smaller competitions is ready and waiting. Sponsors are flocking to this game due to the pure mass audiences that are viewing these non-official tournaments in its earliest stages.
Think about how crazy this is. Fortnite Fridays in just week 3 pulled in 8.5 million unique viewers. This is a low key community tournament that doesn’t even have private servers involved. Yet the prize money and viewers have grown each week.
How Epic Games and the esports community at large shape Fortnite esports in the next year is one of the most interesting gaming opportunities in recent memory.
There will certainly be some typical four man competitive esports organization versus esports organization tournaments. But the celebrity tournaments and duo tournaments and solo tournaments all have legs that any other Battle Royale game couldn’t even touch. There’s a real possibility that within the next year a big Fortnite esports tournament could pull LoL or CS:GO tournament numbers.
The possibility for Epic Games and Fortnite are endless and we’re all just along for the ride.
