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Fortnite wasn’t just released immediately after it was announced. A lot of work and changes were made to the game to become what we know today. It wasn’t until 2020 that Fortnite left Early Access.
Fortnite only became a battle royale game after the genre became popular. The boost to battle royales was thanks to Minecraft Hunger Games, H1Z1, and then PUBG.
When these took off, a survival tower defense game known as Fortnite: Save the World began experimenting with a new mode called Battle Royale.
What started as an experiment into a new genre became the main theme of Fortnite’s start.
When Did Fortnite Originally Release?
Fortnite was originally released to Early Access on July 21, 2017, to anyone who pre-ordered the game. Fortnite was initially available on Xbox One, PC, Mac, and PlayStation 4. The game became available to everyone starting July 25, 2017. iPhones released Fortnite on March 12, 2018. That would make it more than six years old today.
Epic Games released a new mode called Fortnite Battle Royale on Sept. 26, 2017. This experiment would take over the identity of Fortnite.
Why Did Fortnite Beat PUBG and H1Z1?
Fortnite became the dominating game in the battle royale genre because of its inclusivity. H1Z1 and PUBG were focused on PC players. Fortnite releasing to players on consoles and phones pushed its popularity further.
This growth became unstoppable when cross-play was added in Sept. 2018. Cross-play was not a regular feature of games at the time. Fortnite and Rocket League were trailblazers, which likely contributed to their popularity.
Streamers contributed greatly to the success of Fortnite, and it would be criminal not to mention them.
A number of players became associated with Fortnite, including:
- Tfue – Now playing Apex Legends
- Dr Lupo – Variety Streamer
- SypherPK (The trap king) – Still loyal to Fortnite
- Myth – Now playing Call of Duty
- Ninja – The most notable on the list and the most synonymous with the game.
All of these streamers have their own opinions on the state of the game today, but Fortnite launched their careers.
Did Epic Games Have Any Other Games They Worked On Before Fortnite?
Fortnite’s popularity led Epic Games to move staff from other projects, crippling one and killing the other.
Fortnite: Save The World was not as popular as Fortnite Battle Royale. Eventually, Epic Games pulled the staff needed and Fortnite Battle Royale became the main game, while Fortnite: Save The World took a back seat.
While you can still access Fortnite: Save The World, you must pay to access it.
Many will remember Paragon, a MOBA that was meant to compete against Dota 2 and League of Legends (LoL). Paragon released in Aug. 2016, long before Fortnite. Unfortunately for Paragon, it was clear that Fortnite had a good fanbase behind it.
Epic Games made the decision to pull the staff from Paragon and shut down its servers in April 2018. Since Paragon’s assets were released to anyone using the Unreal Engine, animators and game developers benefited.
For more Fortnite articles, check out What Is Fortnite Myths and Mortals, How to Do the Ballistic Shield Charge Quest in Fortnite, and How to Fix Emotes Not Playing Audio.