Fortnite, the game that everyone loves, would not exist if developer Rod Fergusson had stayed at Epic. He admits this on the sidelines of E3 2019.
Why did he want to shut down Fortnite? Fortnite: Battle Royale is a worldwide phenomenon, that cannot be argued away. During E3 2019, it emerged that the game was almost canceled.
Rod Fergusson, the former Director of Production at Epic Games, explained in a Podcast at Game Informer that he wanted to shut down Fortnite. At that time, Fortnite was not yet a Battle Royale.
The reason he did not see a future for the project were challenges with the PvE mode Save the World that were related to the game.
If I had stayed at Epic, I would have shut down Fortnite. Absolutely. Before I left, I tried to cancel Fortnite. When it was just Save the World, it was a project that had some challenges.
As Director of Production at the time, the game would not have met my expectations to be further developed.
Fergusson in the podcast at Game Informer
What those challenges were that arose in the development of Fortnite, Fergusson did not elaborate further.
He made attempts during his time at Epic to end Fortnite.
What happened next for Fergusson? In 2012, his career at Epic Games ended. He joined Irrational Games to finish the development of BioShock Infinite. He then came to Microsoft when they bought the Gears of War franchise from Epic and is now head of the Gears 5 studio The Coalition.
Does he regret leaving Epic? In the interview, Fergusson is asked if he has sleepless nights because he left Epic before this big boom. However, he says that he is very happy for Epic.
When people come to him and say: “Oh, don’t you feel bad?” he tells them: “No, but you should be happy. Because the game you love, this worldwide sensation, would not exist if I had stayed at Epic.”
He jokes that he is responsible for Fortnite’s success because he left Epic.
To further expand Fortnite’s success, they are now trying to broaden the target audience.
