Prince Harry claims it would be of great benefit to ban Fortnite entirely. Epic Games' crown jewel has certainly done well for the company, helping to bring in a jaw-dropping $3 billion for the company in 2018 alone. This success hasn't been without setbacks though, as sports leagues have begun banning Fortnite outright in order to keep its players focused on their jobs. It's been an odd time in the industry to be sure, but it's not all bad.
Epic Games is gearing up for its highly anticipated Fortnite World Cup Qualifiers, as competitive players prepare to duke it out in a bid to lay claim to a piece of the $100 million prize pot. This, alongside other updates for the title, has kept the community buzzing and coming back, but even the excitement within the fan base has been called into question by others. Although, for the first time ever, Fortnite has now been called out by a member of the UK's Royal Family.
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According to The Daily Express, Prince Harry thinks that a better solution to Fortnite's popularity would be to ban it entirely. The Duke of Sussex recently visited a YMCA in West London to speak about the impact of mental health, ultimately labelling games and social media as more dangerous than drugs and alcohol. As Prince Harry puts it:
"[Fortnite] shouldn’t be allowed. It’s created to addict. An addiction to keep you in front of a computer for as long as possible. It’s so irresponsible. Parents have got their hands up – they don’t know what to do about it. It’s like waiting for the damage to be done.”
To Prince Harry's credit, video game addiction has emerged as an increasingly more common issue in recent years, and Fortnite has been blamed a number of times for creating an atmosphere that pulls gamers into that extreme. That's not to say he's right for assuming Fortnite is the problem, because that would be impossible to lay at the feet of any one game in particular. Instead, it's a symptom of a bigger issue, so Prince Harry's comments ultimately come off as something easy to say rather than something with much depth that can be acted upon in any realistic fashion.
Controversy like this also only propels the game back into the limelight, as was seen when Epic Games was sued for featuring popular dances in Fortnite from across the popular culture landscape. These lawsuits were eventually dropped, but they did create several headlines across a number of significant publications as multiple people and celebrities like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's Carlton filed legal grievances against Fortnite and its publisher.
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Source: The Daily Express