I’m tired of writing about Fortnite, but the public certainly isn’t over it. As a billion dollar franchise that is getting its own Funko Pop! line of collectibles, it seems like there is no end to the Fortnite fanbase. So let’s break this down once and for all. Why is Fortnite so popular, and when will it die out?
Let’s compare it to Minecraft, as it’s probably the most recent breakthrough of a game garnering so much acclaim and popularity. Minecraft started as a survival/sandbox game in Beta that became a YouTube sensation almost overnight. What ended up happening was its simplistic formula that made it easy to pick up and enjoyable to play ended up morphing into an over-complex and contrived shell of its former self. The more features that were added, the less it appealed to its core fanbase. The reason for this? These over-the-top features were meant to keep the children who played it entertained. Adding magic, potions, and all the other crazy features to Minecraft ended up distracting the core fans from what they loved about the game: building whatever their heart desired.
Now, let’s take this same concept and apply it to Fortnite. Since it’s spur in popularity, Epic Games has added (and removed) the Thanos gauntlet, shopping carts, rifts, golf carts, launchpads, and guns that frankly don’t even make sense anymore. Every season, it’s new cosmetics, new mechanics, and new game modes that derive from the original concept of the battleground-based builder. Grenades, rocket launchers… all of it is Epic Games trying to one-up themselves and keep kids entertained. Why? Because, at the end of the day, every time you drop off the Battle Bus, it’s the exact same game you’ve played 100 times before, and that’s bound to get boring, right?
While it won’t be anytime soon, I really hope players eventually catch on to the repetitive nature of the game. I guarantee there will be a point where the ideas and mechanics become so ludicrous that players will finally be fed up with Fortnite, because I already am.
