“Where we droppin’ boys” is a statement that we never thought we would hear again. Yet Epic Games, the gaming company that is in charge of “Fortnite,” has finally prevailed. After years of diminishing the game we all once loved, causing many to quit, they made the decision to bring back the game to its old and great state, labeling it as “Fortnite OG.”
The game was originally released in July 2017, and by 2018 it had acquired 125 million players, and the numbers only increased from there. The game had truly taken the world by storm.
Players were spending an abundance of money as well. Players wanted to reach that Tier 100 skin after buying the battle pass. The battle pass, which costs $10, is a reward system in which you unlock a new item at each “tier”, and the tier 100 skin is always the most wanted. They were also buying skins, some worth $20 each, to make sure they looked fashionable in every game.
Epic Games kept updating their game weekly and we kept taking it in. From season to season the game only kept on improving. Some seasons were better than others of course, but it was still enjoyable.
The descent began around Season 10, when the game began getting complicated, yet Epic Games saved itself when it introduced chapters, and thus started Chapter 2, Season 1. This new change, along with Covid, brought the game back. Suddenly people were playing again and the game was enjoyable once more because of its simplicity.
The game really plummeted after Covid. Players were tired of the same, boring updates and increasing complexity, and many simply logged off. “Fortnite” was also taken off both the App Store and Google Play store due to a lawsuit, losing many players. By August 2022, there were only between 2.5 million to 4 million players still playing.
Senior Joshua Greenfield said, “I stopped playing because I grew up and had more important things in my life. I also just found the game really boring to play.”
Then, October 27, “Fortnite” announced on their social media accounts that the old game was coming back on November 3. Millions immediately prepared themselves for their dream to become reality. The old weapons, map, and mechanics were on their way back.
Senior Carter Chance said, “I was really excited because I could finally enjoy the game again, and could enjoy it with my friends too.”
Epic Games announced that on November 4, the game had its biggest day ever, bringing in a total of 44.7 million concurrent players.
The game is going to update weekly with new aspects of original seasons coming. Players can look forward to playing the game they once loved and enjoy the nostalgia with it. The one thing that is left to hope is that “Fortnite” does not screw their game up again.
