Epic invests money in eSports for Fortnite: Battle Royale. $100 million is being set aside for competitive eSports tournaments – just in the first year. They want to set this up as broadly as possible.
Nothing known yet, except the money: For the 2018-2019 season, developer Epic will invest $100 million in the first season of Fortnite: Battle Royale. That’s about €84,960,000. There is hardly any further information on what Epic is exactly planning, just that they are initially putting out this huge sum.
What else can be said? Well, they reveal a little more. Epic says: “They want to be inclusive,” meaning they want to involve as many people as possible. This likely means: Fortnite should not be a traditional, competitive, and exclusive eSport just for the best, but rather more of a mass sport. They want to focus on two things:
- the fun of playing Fortnite
- and the joy of watching others play Fortnite
Party Royale at E3: We could expect a first taste of what Epic has in store for Fortnite eSports at E3 2018. There, Epic is planning the event “Party Royale.” Here, 50 celebrities, athletes, and entertainers will compete against 50 top Fortnite players.
Party or Solo? Currently, there are two different directions in which the battle royale could shift:
- A whole bunch of eSports organizations, like TSM, have already assembled and recruited their teams for Fortnite. They assume that Fortnite eSports will take place in “squads,” with 4-man teams as is common in eSports. One team even signed a 14-year-old.
- Twitch streamers like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins seem to prefer a solo solution. Then individual players would compete. Ninja has already pulled off a successful event in Las Vegas. He believes that Fortnite is more suitable as “solo eSports” because it is more readable and exciting that way.
The “inclusive” approach from Epic and the “different approach” they promise appear to lean more towards the side of solo artists.
Peanuts: This announcement was preceded by the mode “Solo Showdown.” The main prize was $500 in V-Bucks. Compared to the $100,000,000, this now seems like peanuts. However, this mode already showed some weaknesses in the concept of “Solo Fortnite eSports.”
