Fortnite's 'OG' season sparks new concurrent player records

[Alfonso Maruccia]

The big picture: Fortnite was officially released with its PvE (Save the World) and PvP (Battle Royale) components in 2017, and the game quickly became a cultural phenomenon for both gamers and non-gamers alike. Epic Games is now attempting to recapture some of its original appeal with a new season that includes a variety of nostalgic elements to enjoy.

Epic Games recently launched the latest Fortnite season, giving both new and returning players access to some of the game's original content. Fortnite Season OG will only last for four weeks, revisiting different phases of Fortnite: Battle Royale's past with each major update. The massively multiplayer online game phenomenon is taking a nostalgic trip through time, and gamers appear to be enjoying what they've seen so far.

Foremost, Fortnite Season OG allows current players to enter the first map, the original arena that was available with the first Battle Royale release. Many players have joined the action in the past few days, including Fortnite veterans eager to see if the chaotic PvP magic still holds up.

Fortnite's official Twitter account confirmed the overwhelmingly positive response to the new OG season, as November 4, 2023, marked the "biggest day" in Fortnite's history with over 44.7 million players. Additionally, the total number of hours played reached an astounding 102 million. Unofficial tracking site Fortnite.GG also verified this surge in popularity, with the highest concurrent player count ever recorded at 6,172,468.

After re-releasing the original Battle Royale map, Season OG will continue to reintroduce various new (old) content over the next few weeks. The latest Fortnite season is resurrecting weapons (Assault Rifle, Pump Shotgun, Hunting Rifle), traps, and items, along with fan-favorite vehicles such as the All Terrain Kart.

Some of the content will only be available for the week they were added, while others will remain accessible throughout the entire season's duration. Naturally, Epic will offer players the option to purchase objects and new "cosmetic rewards" for a fee, with the OG Pass priced at 950 V-Bucks. Players can earn up to 1,000 V-Bucks by progressing in the OG Pass, which is also included in the Fortnite Crew's $12 monthly subscription.

Fortnite's resurgence in popularity will likely please Epic Games' management, as the company is currently facing some challenges. A few weeks ago, Epic had to say farewell to nearly 900 employees, and Bandcamp.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/100749-fortnite-og-season-sparks-new-concurrent-player-records.html

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Nothing makes me feel old quite like trying to understand the appeal of Fortnite.

 

[Alfonso Maruccia]

*

 

[bondflavor]

Gross, a free-to-play, live-service, microtransaction-ridden, "battle pass" peddling, cringey battle royale game. All of those things are things that turn me off of a game.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Nothing makes me feel old quite like trying to understand the appeal of Fortnite.

Is simple straight forward - start with 100 - try be last 1 standing

Games are quick - if not very good - set your own goals for "win" scenario

If good set your own "win" scenario to handicap your situation

 

[kiwigraeme]

Gross, a free-to-play, live-service, microtransaction-ridden, "battle pass" peddling, cringey battle royale game. All of those things are things that turn me off of a game.

You do know you can play Fortnite BR and spend no money
You know it's not pay to win
You don't need to buy skins or dances if you don't have to

You know you can grind out most rewards in Battle Pass in the month ( I think - could be wrong _
Most those grinds are reasonably different

To qualify - never played the game
But I know others in my family have
Servers are 24/7 - a game in no time - they will fill out with NPCs if needed

Yes if they impose building - then big advantage to best players

In BR mode no team mates - so no biggy if just walk away midgame - no screaming team mates

 

[bondflavor]

You do know you can play Fortnite BR and spend no money
You know it's not pay to win
You don't need to buy skins or dances if you don't have to

I'm aware. But microtransactions as a revenue model are gross to me even if they're just for cosmetic items (pay to win games are likely exceedingly rare). I personally haven't spent a dime in my life on any cosmetic item in any video game that I can remember.

 

[HeeeF]

I'm aware. But microtransactions as a revenue model are gross to me even if they're just for cosmetic items (pay to win games are likely exceedingly rare). I personally haven't spent a dime in my life on any cosmetic item in any video game that I can remember.

Becomes a necessity if you want to be able to afford to host servers for 6 million players concurrently.

 

[bondflavor]

Becomes a necessity if you want to be able to afford to host servers for 6 million players concurrently.

If the game weren't free to play, they wouldn't have millions of concurrent players. The microtransaction model is designed to make shareholders and executives the maximum profit, not merely to cover the cost of servers.

 

[Q Wales]

No one is forcing anyone to buy anything and if you are talking about kids purchasing cosmetic items, this will presumably be paid for by their parents who should be able to decide if this is something they are happy to do or not.

Also, you can buy the battlepass 1 time and get enough virtual cash to continue to buy it forever more. You also get to earn all the relative cosmetic items each season FOC and slowly build up additional VCash to purchase the occasional in game item, if that's what you want.

From comment above: Yes you can grind out all battlepass rewards by the end of the Season(not month) by regular playing.