Epic Games is shaking up Fortnite once more with the addition of air strikes to the game, but the timing is suspect - we're just two weeks out from a $30 million tournament that professionals have been training months for. The Fortnite World Cup circuit is one of the most lucrative esports endeavors in recent memory, offering million dollar qualifiers on the road to bigger and better competitions throughout the year, one of which arrives toward the end of July.
This isn't the first time that Epic Games has made the baffling decision to dramatically change the way professional Fortnite is played on last-minute notice. Fortnite banned stretched screen resolutions just a few days away from the beginning of the World Cup circuit, angering players who had used the ratios to benefit from more visible hitboxes on enemies. While the practice was certainly sketchy and eventually did need to be removed, it was the timing of the decision that baffled many. The backlash from the pro community was huge, and many players threatened departures over what they perceived to be continued ignorance on Epic's part when it comes to what pros want out of Fortnite esports.
Epic Games did no favors for itself today, then, when it announced on the official Fortnite website that it would introduce of Fortnite air strikes to the world's most popular battle royale title. The new item added in patch v9.30 arrived today, and it is literally called Air Strike. When thrown, it marks an area that will soon be occupied by a torrent of missiles, with 20 being used per Air Strike. The missiles are both dangerous for players at 75 damage per hit and for buildings, as they do 200 damage to structures and will likely demolish player-made buildings quickly. The weapons appear to be rare, so they won't completely usurp the Fortnite meta, but they're still a major change.
Given the massive impact this option will have on Fortnite esports, then, the question remains - why? Epic Games has proven time and again that Fortnite esports, and the World Cup, are a complete afterthought for the developer, and air strikes being added to the game cement that as fact. The Fortnite esports scene is nothing more than a grandiose marketing campaign for Epic that happens to benefit the players who are participating within it while reducing their practice to two factors: luck, and ability to roll with sudden and dramatic changes. It's garnered a fair bit of criticism from esports veterans, too:
It's not clear that this is inherently unfair, either. It is if one were to view Fortnite esports as a legitimate battle royale competition, but it's possible that's not how Epic Games sees it, and if so, then we need to adjust our perception. If the Fortnite World Cup really is just a showcase for personalities in the game while also serving as an advertising campaign, then these changes make sense. Viewers will be excited by air strikes and how they affect the games they're playing. While it's cruel to players who dedicate hours of every day to become a Fortnite esports pro, maybe that's just not a realistic dream - streaming seems better for many, and there might be a reason so many content creators, despite their obvious skill, stay far away from Fortnite competition at the highest level.
Source: Epic Games