Let's Talk About Fortnite, Influencers and Its Culture

Following our Saulderson Spotlight on ThatDenverGuy last week, we wanted to talk about the game his content surrounds, the immensely popular free-to-play game – Fortnite.

Fortnite is a very popular online game, released in 2017 by Epic Games. Though the game has three separate modes, Fortnite Battle Royale is by far the most popular, attracting millions of fans globally and encouraging a wealth of content creators on YouTube. These astounding levels of popularity have made Fortnite a resounding success with a massively committed community.

The fast-paced, competitive nature of the game makes it extremely fun for players who are fans of FPS titles and bright, colourful environments. Some of its popularity can be attributed to the fact that it’s incredibly shareable: high moments of winning alongside low moments of getting killed by an opponent make for very engaging content online. A desire to do well in the game and secure “Victory Royales” has seen a number of skilled creators grow from sharing their gameplay tips and advice, as well as a number of esports competitors thrive and earn millions from playing the game competitively.

Another key element of Fortnite’s success is the social side of it: players can play alongside each other in duos or teams, improve their abilities through multiple sessions of practice (much like other Battle Royales or shooter games).

What merges this so well with influencers, such as ThatDenverGuy, is that a game has managed to create a culture. There are specific ways that people interact, jargon, culture leaders that has allowed the game to thrive so well in the social media space.

Through the share-ability of Fortnite, players are seeking to elevate their gaming credibility – in terms of setup, skill and overall knowledge of the game. Everyone is keen to share their setup, find new ones, the most flashy and be like all the influencers.

Despite the game having been out for over 3 years, a continuous release of new seasons, regular updates and numerous options for micro-transactions has meant that the game shows no signs of slowing down.