Fortnite is back with a bang! Many critics thought the popularity of the game was declining. They were right to think that, as the game’s player base was shrinking. Gamers had started to complain the gameplay and storyline were descending into chaos. To counter all the issues, Epic Games just hit a reset button on the game.

Epic Games brought ‘Fortnite OG’ in Chapter 4. Throughout the new season, each major update will bring a different phase of the battle royale’s past. And for the very first phase, they brought back items from Chapter 1. This move from Epic Games till now has received a lot of love.

What led to the decline of Fortnite?

When Fortnite was first introduced in 2017, players picked it up wholeheartedly. The cel-shaded animations with the feel of a competitive battle royale brought in players from almost all age groups. Many players connected with their friends and made new friends during the pandemic through this game. The popularity of the game was at its height when many artists like Ariana Grande and Travis Scott had virtual concerts in the game. Fortnite was almost synonymous with video games during the pandemic.

However, it all started to change with the storyline. The island got famously sucked into a black hole. Starting from this, the map of the game was revamped multiple times in every chapter. This led to many early players losing interest in the game, as it did not look familiar anymore. At its peak in 2021, the game was averaging almost 290,000,000 monthly players.

But this number shrank down by quite a lot in the following years. October 2023 was one of the worst months for the game as only 231,000,000 players were recorded monthly. Epic Games, on the other hand, was busy with bringing in other franchise characters in the game. But the latest season has shown promising results for Fortnite.

The success of Fortnite OG

The latest season of Fortnite featured the return of many iconic items. Shopping carts, ATKs, the Assault Rifle, Pump shotgun, and more came back to the game in both Battle Royale and Zero Build.

The return of the game to its early days was enough for many players to jump back into the game. On November 5, the game recorded its biggest day ever as around 45 million players were enjoying the game. Furthermore, many big streamers like Dr DisRespect, TimTheTatman, and DrLupo returned to the game.

Players are also jumping into the Zero Build battle royale and duking it out on Tilted Towers. Looking at the popularity of this season, players, and even Epic Games, would not want this season to end. Many critics were wondering how the launch of the OG season was met with so much love, and how Epic Games would have to turn it off in a month. The nostalgia factor has worked favorably for them, and they would be thinking of capitalizing on this even further. But a thing to note is that when fans return to the games in their reboot phase, they’re desiring not just for an old game, but for a simpler time.

Read More: From Chapter 1 to Chapter 4, Fortnite’s Visual Changes Explained

However, every gamer realizes a game cannot stay stagnant. While the grand reception of the OG season is a motivating factor for Epic Games, they surely would be looking at their next steps. The question that arises is – What can Epic Games do to retain the interest of the players?

The possible next step of Epic Games

However, Epic Games has an opportunity to trace its steps back with the latest season. They have a rare chance to rebuild the game to what the fans expected the game to grow into. The devs at Epic Games can look into the elements people loved in Fortnite and reintroduce them. Many fans are also demanding devs to make the OG map a constant playable option in the game.

However, if Epic Games wants to bring in new players, they would also have to try to expand their horizons. Just running the game on nostalgia alone might not be beneficial. A step they took in this direction correctly is the introduction of the battle royale on all major platforms. During the Epic Games vs. Alphabet case, Google offered Epic Games $147 million to launch Fortnite on the Google Play Store. This goes to show how popular the game is.

Considering the increasing craze around the game, Epic Games can also reach out to its community to survey what they want in the game. However, this decision might take some time. With the next season of Chapter 4 approaching, gamers are ready for what Epic Games has in store for them. The next season will decide if the recent increase in popularity was a one-off thing or if Epic Games has cracked the code to impress its user base.

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