Dr. Sascha L. Schmidt is a senior professor and director of the Center for Sports and Management at WHU—Otto Beisheim School of Management in Dusseldorf. With the “Future of Sports” being one of his key research areas, Sascha closely observes the development of the esports market, and has been an expert in various esports documentaries (including “ClickOn” and German TV-stations ARD, ZDF and WDR).

Fortnite is the game of the hour. Epic Games has really taken it off: Dance battles, cosplay competitions, and talk rounds have taken place on the show stage; there was even a Fortnite theme park at Gamescom. It’s huge!

Starting just last year, Fortnite conquered not only children’s, but also their parents’ living rooms in the meantime. Becoming a worldwide gaming hit from a standing start, Fortnite might also be the next big thing for professional players. The esports industry is facing a potential blockbuster.

What is Fortnite?



In the so-called “battle royale” mode, Fortnite allows up to 100 players to compete simultaneously in a gradually shrinking area. Each player can choose his or her own starting position on a map by landing there with a motorized paraglider. The principle of the game is simple: It is about survival. Everyone against everyone, the last man standing wins.

Sounds brutal, and it is. Nevertheless, the game enjoys quite a high level of acceptance among parents, even in German households, which are normally rather critical. This is because the game is not just about killing as many opponents as possible. Each player starts from scratch and must first find weapons and other useful items. This is one of the core mechanisms of the game: the collection of materials with which the players can also build. All trees, shrubs, stones, etc. can be used as resources to build walls, houses, or towers; these can serve as protection and offer advantages when it comes to attacking enemies. In addition, new constructions can be used to reach places or positions that are otherwise inaccessible to a player’s avatar.

How Big is Fortnite?



[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]78.3M players logged in to Fortnite in August.[/perfectpullquote]

According to various media reports, 125M people worldwide already play Fortnite. Considering the game has been on the market for less than twelve months, this number is impressive. Even more remarkable is the fact that the game is still growing. Developer Epic Games recently announced that 78.3M players logged in to Fortnite in August, a new single-month record.

Related Article: Epic Games Introduces Clubs for Fortnite Fall Skirmish Series

And it doesn’t include gamers who turn on streaming services like Twitch or YouTube to watch others play. Fortnite has something attractive: The battle royale mode provides unlimited variety. Each round is unique. Elements of the game have even transferred into real life. The characters can perform various types of dances. Players imitate them with their friends – even football stars like Antoine Griezman use them to celebrate their goals.

Why did Fortnite Become so Popular?



Fortnite battle royale is free and can be played on a computer, smartphone, or on any of the popular consoles. The user interface is intuitive and even inexperienced players will quickly succeed. This is unusual for online games. Newcomers can also see how experienced players behave, how they build, and how they stay alive.

What Potential Does Fortnite Offer for Esports?



Esports already is big. Nevertheless, despite their popularity, many esports titles like League of Legends or Dota 2 , were not originally designed for the mass market—they were designed for the gaming community. As a result, most of the games are too complex for the average consumer to develop an immediate understanding of the game. Sports games like FIFA , by Electronic Arts , have a different problem: many viewers prefer the real-life football to the electronic version. Additionally, classic shooter games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will always be confronted with the accusation of glorifying violence.

Interestingly, Epic Games manages to avoid these problems. Fortnite is easy to understand, exciting, and entertaining from the very first game—even for newcomers. Fortnite has so far avoided the “gunfighting” discussion of Counter-Strike. The game has positive-looking, cartoon-like graphics, which show neither blood nor injuries; it also includes tasks such as collecting materials and building, which expand the spectrum of play. Finally, the developers attach great importance to humor: the dance interludes of avatars have even step out of the virtual world into real life, with professional football players acting them out on the pitch.

In order to suit Fortnite as an esports title, some teething issues still have to be fixed. The biggest problem: The random factor in the game is still too big. The way the game is currently structured does not ensure that the best player always wins. Even a newbie can do some kills or even win his first match by chance. However, I am convinced that this issue can be solved so that Fortnite stands to become one of the most influential esports titles of the coming decade.