Earlier this month, Fortnite made a record breaking comeback bringing a staggering 44.7 million players back to the game on November 4th. Millions continue to return to the game after its recent “OG” update. This new update brings back old game features and most importantly, the old map. Fortnite is all over social media following its previous update and has once again captivated teens and young adults around the world.
The size of Fortnite’s return sparks questions about why players came back in such a dramatic fashion. Senior Dylan Boyko says, “The new update is “OG themed,” so the original game map and weapons have returned, with some very slight changes, like removing certain buildings from how the map was originally. Overall, it’s as close as I think possible to how the game was in 2018 and Fortnite is having a sort of “second prime ” due to these changes.” Boyko also states, “ I, along with many others have returned to Fortnite to relive the glory days and nostalgia of the game’s 2017-2018 era.” Adding to Boyko’s belief, senior Leo Haddad attributes the wave of popularity to be a result of the games reversion to its old ways saying, “Fortnite’s decline was a result of the changes made to the game. Reverting a majority of the negative changes brought a lot of players back.”
While Fortnite seems to have risen from irrelevancy, it has remained a staple in its genre as it shaped much of the gaming community as we know it today. Whether that is in relation to streaming, e-sports, or revolutionary in game purchases, Fortnite was ahead of its time as a first person shooter game with a free download and in game purchases in the form of cosmetics. All this to say, Fortnite will remain a pillar in the gaming community with or without its current “OG” theme, which is slated to end after December 2nd. Nostalgia seems to be the driving factor in Fortnite’s massive return, receiving massive attention on social media and bringing millions back to the game they once knew, but it has and will continue to break records in the background.
