Whenever I hear people talk about Fortnite nowadays, it seldom seems to be about the gameplay. Epic Games’ battle royale changed everything when it first burst onto the scene, taking the formula pioneered by PUBG and crafting it into something infinitely more approachable. It was free-to-play, for starters, allowing anyone to jump in and progress through its seasonal model to unlock skins, cosmetics, and challenges. It amassed millions of players and defined a battle pass system that has now become an industry standard, so it makes perfect sense that Fortnite has continued to change the game ever since.
You might not like Fortnite, you might even despise how all encompassing it has managed to become in the realm of popular culture, but you can’t deny that Epic is doing something very special here. One of the core reasons its gunplay, crafting, and exploration are thrown aside so willingly is because they’re easily the most boring things about it. The metaverse is what really matters, a virtual platform that continues to grow and evolve as new licensed properties and bespoke characters are added to the universe.
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We’ve seen movie trailers and major crossovers introduced with each passing season that cement how influential Fortnite has become. Star Wars, Marvel, Rick & Morty, Alien, Predator, Terminator, Harry Kane, Master Chief, Kratos, Aloy, and the list goes on – if you’re a major franchise from the past couple of decades then you probably stand a pretty solid chance at appearing in Fortnite at some point. Part of me hates how the game has just become a camping ground for random properties, but it also manages to delight and surprise whenever a new announcement is made. I might not care about Rick Sanchez, but the fact he appeared as a big name for the latest chapter definitely put a smile on my face.
Perhaps more important than all of the absurd cameos is how Fortnite has managed to bring players together in gatherings where combat isn’t the main focus. You can obviously still opt to kill one another for experience and loot, but concerts and creative mode have established the game as a venue for events that go far beyond battle royale. Epic Games recently announced The Rift Tour, a musical journey taken through the realm of Fortnite that will feature global superstars performing across myriad magical realities.
We don’t know who the headliner is yet, although rumours point to it being Ariana Grande, whose name is large enough to pull in those who aren’t familiar with the game in the slightest. It’s similar to Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga – the latter having a cancelled crossover revealed in the Epic v. Apple court case – rocking up to Tilted Towers and banging out a set, showcasing the pull Fortnite has in terms of expanding far beyond its battle royale origins. This is no longer just a game, it’s a platform for players and creators to experiment and experience new things that the medium hasn’t dared to broach upon before.
You could even argue that Fortnite’s existence as a battle royale shooter is holding the metaverse back from its true potential, forcing Epic Games’ to abide by a seasonal model it helped pioneer instead of toying with new ideas that don’t want to be held down by a specific genre. There’s always a chance the series will break away from this singular client into spin-offs and other forms of media that take into account its wider lore and storytelling while trying something new, something that doesn’t have to constantly deal with evolving battle passes and the need for licensed cameos to keep things fresh.
Whenever I think of Fortnite now, I think back to the Travis Scott concert. I don’t like his music, but that didn’t matter. My friends and I were enamoured by the visual spectacle, comprehending how we were watching an artist perform before us in a medium that has never really entertained the idea of live music before. The Rift Tour feels like an expansion of this idea, essentially turning Fortnite into a festival where we can take on quests, watch people perform, and lose ourselves in the brilliance of it all.
Gaming still has an unhealthy obsession with combat, and Fortnite is getting closer and closer to abandoning it altogether in exchange for a metaverse keen to push us in countless new directions. Epic Games’ has the budget and ambition to make anything possible. I have no idea where things are going, and that’s the most exciting part about it.
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