In Fortnite: Battle Royale (PC, PS4, iOS, Android, Switch & Xbox One) countless gamers stream every day and entertain their fans. This has now been utilized by a few clever climate researchers to finally find a larger audience.
What does Fortnite have to do with climate change? It all started when climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe remarked somewhat oddly on Twitter that her video about climate change on YouTube got 1,000 views, while the simultaneously released Fortnite video of her 11-year-old son, however, got 10,000!
This, in turn, made another climate researcher, Henri Drake, curious. Hardly anyone seems to be interested in climate change, but Fortnite is much more popular. So what if you combine both?
Scientists form a Fortnite team and lecture about the climate
Who wants to join my climate Fortnite team? Henri Drake asked on Twitter if he could find some colleagues who would play Fortnite with him and talk about the climate during the stream. He quickly found interested teammates and carried out his plan.
The climate squad on the prowl: In his stream, Henri Drake and his constantly changing crew discuss climate change, global warming, and other climate topics while they collect weapons, gather resources, and take out opponents in Fortnite.
Climate researchers achieve victory: The researchers are actually doing quite well. In a match that Drake played with a colleague and his two sons, they even achieved an epic victory.
Is the concept successful?
Fortnite as a vehicle for complex messages: The researchers’ concept is smart in itself, but they haven’t really been able to establish themselves yet. The Climate Fortnite Squad channel has only 15 subscribers so far.
However, the idea of combining complex topics with a fun game could prove to be successful in the long run.
