Fortnite May Be Gearing Up For Its Biggest Event Ever
Although Halloween has Fortnite players involved in the special holiday-themed Fortnitemares, Season 4 of its second chapter is still underway, and from the looks of it, could lead to something big. According to iFireMonkey, a known leaker in the Fortnite community, an anonymous but credible source was able to dig up some alleged insider info on what's to come in the title.
In the tweet, iFireMonkey shared some details from a supposed Zoom conversation between Geoff Keighley, host of The Game Awards, and Donald Mustard, creative director at Epic Game. These details indicated that a big announcement is planned for The Game Awards on Dec. 10. As far as what's coming, the tweet shared a quote that alludes to "The biggest event they've ever done and it will change the future of Fortnite." Certainly an exciting and broad statement. What could this major event be, and what will this mean for the game?
Fortnite Chapter 2 - Season 4 introduced the Marvel Universe into the famous battle royale in a big way. Not only can gamers play as their favorite Marvel superheroes, but the crossover is canon to the comics. The story involves a conflict between Galactus, which implies an eventual confrontation with the famed Devourer of Planets. Could such a battle be the "biggest event they've ever done?"
Bringing the Marvel universe into the world of Fortnite seems like an obvious formula for success. This also isn't the first time fans have seen such a crossover. In 2018, to capitalize on the craze surrounding Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos brought his Infinity Gauntlet with him to the Fortnite party. In the event, players embarked on a hunt for the deadly piece of armor, which would transform whoever found it into the infamous Marvel villain.
In 2019, the Marvel universe made its way to Fortnite once more in the form of an Avengers: Endgame-themed limited time mode. With this LTM, players were sorted into hero and villain teams in an epic battle for victory. Unlike the previous crossover, a greater assortment of Marvel paraphernalia was included, allowing more players to become multiple characters from that universe.
Bringing Marvel into the mix seems to have done nothing but good for Fortnite. Not only has it inspired unique gameplay modes, but it's a clever way to expand brand reach. Not that Fortnite is hurting for more players, but if any Marvel fans had yet to try it, a crossover was the perfect opportunity to give it a go.
In an article on Game Rant, Michael Beckwith discussed the prominent theory that the big news is related to the scope of the impending Nexus War event. Considering the size and power of Galactus, Beckwith questioned the feasibility of putting him up against a legion of heroes. Instead, Beckwith suggested that the big event might be something similar to how Fortnite's first chapter ended, where the current world map is decimated to make way for something new. Such a reset would make sense considering what Galactus does. It would also be pretty significant.
There may another possibility, however. In the Twitter thread, iFireMonkey pointed to an interesting tweet made a year ago. When asked by Roundhill Investments CEO Will Hershey whether Fortnite could be seen as a game or a platform, Epic Games' CEO Tim Sweeney responded with the assertion that "Fortnite is a game. But please ask that question again in 12 months."
It's interesting to note how the timing seems to line up. Sweeney's tweet was on Dec. 26, 2019. Jump forward about 12 months and you hit 2020's The Game Awards, where the big announcement is allegedly planned. Perhaps the news is bigger than Galactus, considering it's supposed to "change the future of Fortnite?"
The next step in the Fortnite evolution may involve becoming more of a platform or a format for other major franchise tie-ins. In that case, you could possibly expect a series of Fornite-like games and modes based on other properties, turning the franchise into even more of a gaming empire.
Even if that isn't the nature of the big announcement supposedly dropping at this year's The Game Awards, the future of Fortnite could include a more permanent seat for Marvel at the dinner table. Whatever the case may be, the end of Season 4 is about a month away.