The Key to Fortnite’s Success

How Fortnite became the most-played game with 100 million players in November

Fortnite was one of the world's biggest games. Then it disappeared. And now its back breaking records? How?

Well, it's pretty genius to be honest. You have to give them credit. Epic Games, the owners of Fortnite, brought back OG Fortnite in November and it was probably the best thing they have done since the birth of the game.

Let's start at the beginning. Fortnite was released back in 2017 and became an overnight success. This is not only because it was free to play and download, but also because of the gap in the market

It was a game like no other, Simple to play and understand with a clear cartoony look to it. It distanced itself from other battle royal games with “building” - The ability to create basic structures in order to defend yourself from other players.

The skill level on Fortnite Boomed in 2018, with the likes of the biggest Twitch streamers playing the game seemingly 24/7.

Now what does this all have to do with its revival? Well, for people like me, a 15-year-old at the peak of the game, it was played non-stop. I was playing with friends at almost any point I could. The simplicity and fun of it was so attractive and addictive. Update after update came out, then things started to take a turn for the worse. Competitors such as Warzone came out with a much more intense and fun game with a smaller intimate map.

With Fortnite disappearing and still aimed at young teens, 16–18 year-olds grew out of the game, seeing it as “childish”.

Fast forward 4 years and the announcement of the return of OG Fortnite (the game that we fell in love with as young teens) came out and the anticipation was larger than expected. Within my friend group we had all instantly decided to hop back on and play, as I'm sure every “OG” friend group did.

So, when it arrived, we did. And all I can say is WOW. The nostalgia hit instantly and the fun times were flowing again. It reminded me of how much fun I had playing the game.

What a great marketing strategy for Fortnite. Take the game back to its most popular for a limited time and get all the old players back.

Once the month-long event is over, release one of the biggest updates in a long time and hope to maintain some of the returning players.

I mean it worked. I'm still playing the game a bit with friends due to its versatility.

So that's their genius move. Bring back what captivated millions of players and hope that they stick around to see the new game.

This isn't even talking about the online concerts Fortnite has held in the past where players load up in-game to see a performance by Marshmallow or Eminem.

What other game has ever offered anything close to that?

It just shows that Free games are increasingly important as they can go from just an idea to a platform where some of the world's biggest artists perform.