The past weekend went very differently depending on which half of Fortnite's divided fanbase is asked, as developer Epic Games received thousands of variably sarcastic and sincere messages through the hashtag #ThankYouEpicGames. The battle royale firebrand continues to be a financial boon for the rapidly expanding company, but a considerable segment of its most vocal players might be more of a curse than a cash cow.
Fortnite has changed a lot since its 2017 release, known at the time as Fortnite: Battle Royale, a spin-off mode of then-main game Fortnite: Save the World. In the intervening years, it rapidly morphed from an interesting proof of concept into a streaming and esports institution, constantly reinventing not only its map, but itself, along the way. The game has caught increasing flak for its eagerness to cross-promote with the likes of Marvel and other major media giants, as well as for constant balancing overhauls and tweaks that are perceived to only benefit "sweaty" pros or casual "defaults" and never both.
That identity split in Fortnite's playerbase results in social media battles like this weekend's. Kicked off on Saturday by more disillusioned players, hardcore fans were led in chorus on Twitter by frustrated streamers and esports athletes in pronouncing the game dead with the hashtag #RipFortnite. Sunday brought the inevitable reaction to the past day's melodrama, with more steadfast supporters, like MrAppieGaming, reasserting their faith in the game with #ThankYouEpicGames. As had been the case with #RipFortnite, there were opponents of the sentiment, like LG beehive, who derisively used the new hashtag to further air out their irritations. And, of course, some were content to simply sit on the sideline and grab some popcorn, with Windermed and others sharing timely memes. Check out some of the tweets below:
As can be expected, neither "side" of the feuding Fortnite factions are well-unified in their attacks on or defenses of Epic Games, as there are plenty of casual players who declared the battle royale dead on Saturday and even more professionals who came to its aid on Sunday. The company is held to many of the same double (sometimes triple) standards that other stewards of successful competitive games are impossibly expected to satisfy, and it probably won't - and shouldn't - come running to save the day by kowtowing to either's list of demands. Besides, there are other important issues that Epic is variously putting off or poorly addressing in its non-Fortnite properties at the moment, such as the Epic Games Store.
Whether they wish for the game's quick death or celebrate its persistent accomplishments, Epic Games will be invariably nonplussed as long as they keep playing Fortnite. Capital extracted from that title is the energy that powers the Unreal Engine creator's ability to muscle its way into the publishing world, and nothing will fundamentally change behind its doors unless newcomer titles like Riot Games' Valorant sap its player counts - and revenue stream - dry.
Source: MrAppieGaming, I Talk Fortnite, LG beehive, Not Jonesy, Windermed via Twitter