The return of Fortnite’s original map has gone over like gangbusters, with the battle royale game reaching an unprecedented player peak off the heels of its nostalgic landscape makeover.
X user Shiina, a hub for Fortnite leaks and news, first shared a chart from Fortnite’s publisher Epic Games that boasted a player peak of over 3,300,000 on Nov. 3. Fortnite’s official account went on to report even higher numbers the following day, disclosing that Nov. 4 saw “44.7 million players jumping in and 102 million hours of play.” The post went on to thank players old and new for their contribution to the game’s biggest day to date.
Thanks to its streamlined and vastly accessible Battle Royale mode, it didn’t take long for Fortnite to become a sweeping sensation in gaming. In 2018, one year after the game’s launch, Epic Games reported that Fortnite had attracted an audience of 125 million registered players. The game’s meteoric success, especially among a young demographic, even bled into sociopolitical discourse where it served as a catalyst for conversation and litigation about microtransactions and children’s health. These ongoing conversations – as well as constantly updating maps, pop culture crossovers, and the game’s popularity among streamers – meant Fornite’s moment in the limelight never quite faded.
However, FortniteOG‘s return to the nostalgic aesthetics of the battle royale game’s 2017 origins has amplified the Fortnite phenomena to new heights. The numbers unequivocally prove that a throwback to Fortnite’s Season 1 map was the exact move players have been craving.
In the years since Fortnite first exploded onto the scene, the game’s ongoing Seasons have incorporated characters from properties such as Marvel, Star Wars, DC, Naruto and Stranger Things to entice new and old players to stay online for another trip on the Battle Bus. Aside from characters from fictional franchises, the game has also featured collaborations with professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA and Premiere League and celebrities like Ariana Grande and MrBeast to appeal to players. However, none of these crossovers has proven as impactful as ForniteOG, which has skyrocketed the game’s player peak to brand new heights.
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