Last year, Epic Games with its Fortnite booth was the attraction at gamescom. How does the presence of the popular online shooter look at gamescom 2019? Unfortunately, not very good.
The Fortnite booth at gamescom 2018: Last year, Epic Games rocked gamescom with Fortnite. The booth was a major attraction. Epic came up with an “Offline Battlepass” specially for the fair in Cologne.
Players could do things in real life that they usually do in Fortnite, like:
- run through an obstacle course
- ride a zip line
- take a selfie with a llama
- ride on a rocket
- or dance where you’re not supposed to dance
Those who participated received a special gimmick in the game Fortnite, a spray – which many then sold on eBay.
Although no Fortnite was played at the booth, top YouTubers like HandOfBlood or Trymac put on a show and it was a huge hit.
In 2018, Fortnite was a big deal at gamescom. The booth was so popular that the hall seemed overcrowded.
There was even a rumor that “someone had pooped in front of the Fortnite booth.” The PR boss of Epic Games had to deny the rumor.
A fun experience for the whole family.
No own Fortnite booth at gamescom 2019
What’s it like in 2019? If you’re looking for a Fortnite booth at gamescom 2019, you’ll be disappointed. Although the game will be played at some booths, there is no proper Fortnite booth.
Epic Games does have a booth at the fair in Hall 7 – but it’s not about Fortnite, it’s about the Unreal Engine. Here, Indie games are mainly promoted.
Epic now organizes events for Fortnite itself
What’s behind this? Fortnite held its own world championship a few weeks ago and pulled it off with a multi-day program. Fortnite also skipped E3 2019 and instead organized its own “party weekend” on the sidelines of the event when everyone was already in LA:
- It seems that Epic used gamescom 2018 to establish and promote the brand.
- In 2019, they are not relying on the public gamescom, but are investing their money in their own events and activities.
Sad for all the small and large Fortnite fans who were expecting a spectacle like in 2018 from gamescom. This is certainly a loss for gamescom as well, with Blizzard having already lost a strong crowd magnet this year.
