Fortnite is ‘The Game of the Decade’

Over the break, our writers have written up their ‘Game of the Decade’ picks. We saw The Last of Us, The Witcher 3, my choice Celeste and even Virtue’s Last Reward to name a few, but I think we all got it wrong. Although still brilliant in their own right, none of these have been anywhere near as influential in not only gaming but globally as the true champion. The game that we all love, or love to hate, will define what we play in 2020 and years beyond. I am of course talking about Fortnite.

I know what you are all thinking, how can this spawner of the most cringe-inducing memes of the last few years be the ‘Game of the Decade’? The game has more going for it than the ‘floss’ and other borrowed dance moves which people love to imitate, not least of which being Fortnite is just fun to play.  

The cartoony island battleground is a joy to explore, and weekly challenges and constant updates keep gameplay fresh, be it new modes, items or even changing the entire map during a massive in-game event. Furthermore, there is something exhilarating about getting your first elimination, your first Victory Royale or even your 10th or 100th. Battle-royales all share that intensity, as you watch the numbers whittle down until it is just a 1v1 fight, with either victory or bitter second place if you choke, and Fortnite is no exception.

Though Fortnite can go beyond the confines of its in-game world. Leaching into and from ours in many ways, even before their World’s Collide event. Most obviously are the online creators, the likes of Ninja, LazarBeam and Myth being just three names that have skyrocketed because of their symbiotic relationship with the game. Fortnite has also seen crossover with some of our world’s biggest franchises – Avengers, Batman and Star Wars have brought skins, items and game modes to the island. If you have ever wanted to know who would win a fight between Black Widow and Catwoman or Kylo Ren and John Wick, Fortnite can provide the answer.

However, Fortnite has gone above and beyond. The developers, Epic Games, have taken their success and fundamentally altered the gaming landscape in ways larger than spawning more battle-royales. One of their largest contributions being the Epic Games Store. 

When Valve’s Steam has operated a practical monopoly in the PC digital storefront market for the entire decade, the Epic Games Store has offered it the first real competition. Epic certainly has its issues, with some of its rival’s features still missing, but its treatment of other developers has shown compassion, something hard to come by in business. Epic has helped given security to indie creators who no longer need to worry if their first game will bankrupt them, gives all developers a generous cut of their sales (Epic takes only 12% of sales rather than Steam’s 20-30%) and goes to show that the status quo can always be shifted.

Additionally on the business side, Epic announced in 2018 that creators on the Unreal Engine Marketplace would not only be receiving a better cut (Epic again taking only 12% rather than the 30% they did before) but that they would receive back pay. This meant that Epic would return money to vendors for every sale that was made since the digital storefront’s 2014 as if the split had always been 12-88. At the time Tim Sweeny, the CEO of Epic Games, credited Fortnite’s success as a reason for this change.

Furthermore, Epic finally demolished the Sony cross-play dam, unleashing a tidal-wave that even Minecraft, the most sold game of all time, could not. This feature, that players have demanded for years, is guaranteed to become a staple for releases going into the 20s. No longer will gamers be bound by their consoles, but friends across Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo devices, as well as PC, can finally come together and appreciate what they love as a collective.

So even though Fortnite is not my favourite game ever, I have no doubt in my mind that it is the kind of game we do not see often and, to be hyperbolic, may never see again. It has changed what gaming will look like going into 2020 whilst simultaneously entering the wider cultural zeitgeist in an unignorable way. Everyone has heard of Fortnite. Eventually the fad will die down, it always does, but I do not know which ‘next big thing’ will top the peak Fortnite set. What I do know is that nothing else came close to topping this juggernaut from 2010-2019. It might not be my ‘Game of the Decade’ but Fortnite is the ‘Game of the Decade’.