Why Fortnite?

Fortnite, without a doubt, had been dominating the gaming culture and even more impressively, became the second most played PC game of all time. But once, there was a battle royale game that was also much appreciated and well-known, PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds. Flashback to about 9 months ago, Fortnite wasn’t as big of a deal or as prominent as it is now… instead, it was PUBG. I had just asked my mom to buy the $30 dollar game. (That would be key later to understanding Fortnite’s success over PUBG) In my opinion, PUBG is among one of the best games ever made; it created the foundation for various other battle royale games including Fortnite. Engaged, I played PUBG continuously everyday because it introduced the consumers and me to a new genre of gaming that was never provided before.

As time passed, Fortnite started to progress at a rapid pace and soon enough, everyone I knew was playing Fortnite. In March of 2018, Fortnite officially surpassed PUBG player count and monthly revenue. With these shocking numbers, I still refused to play Fortnite because I believed it was a “childish” game… which it is but I still enjoy it. Then, I decided to try out the game that was so hyped up and played by everyone. Surprisingly, Fortnite was free! I launched Fortnite and hopped into a game. It sucked. The mechanism of the game felt off and the overall game setting was just not fun; I was not used to this type of gameplay. But then something crazy happened. When I played PUBG, I had the worst experience because it felt different. The game was much more complicated than it used to be and it wasn’t able to perform as well as Fortnite.

There I was, feeling conflicted. I was so sure that PUBG is the superior of the two games but suddenly I wasn’t. Throughout the entire time, I had been mocking my friends for playing a game that I deemed childish. The battle pass, which is basically an exclusive season that players could earn things by leveling up their tiers, had just came up with their third season. Therefore, I decided, “Why don’t I just begin here.”

Fortnite is fun. The level of customization and overall freedom that PUBG provides is not comparable to that of Fortnite. But as I played, I soon realized that money had to be invested into the game for it to be more fun. That was how Fortnite was profiting. Furthermore, the media coverage along with the hype around Fortnite had built a lot of controversies and popularity for the game. The game seemed like it would never die, and it even reached its peak when they introduced the character Thanos into the game. Back in July, I tried playing PUBG again but I was just not used to it. There were way too many bugs and errors in the game.

In conclusion, a game I used to perceive as childish and unrealistic at best became one of the game that I endorse the most. If there were a lesson to be learned out of my experience, that is to keep an open mind when it comes to trying out new games. Sticking to one game and being dedicated to it is good… but when you’re not open to trying out new games then that is not going to pay off in the future. Even though I believe PUBG isn’t as good as I used to think it is, I suppose it is very important due to the fact that it created the foundation of the genre now known as battle royale.