Fortnite is a video game designed by Epic Games that took the internet by storm with its release in 2017. It has three game modes: Fortnite Save the World, Fortnite Creative, and Fortnite Battle Royale. In particular, players flocked to the Battle Royale version. Up to this point, Fortnite has amassed over 200 million players worldwide.
Fortnite has even set new cultural norms. The Fortnite Dance Challenge has popularized a multitude of new dance moves, encouraging users to share their attempts at the “Fortnite Dance Challenge” online. Even sports stadiums will feature Fortnite Dance Challenges. In addition, Fortnite has dominated Twitch, an online video streaming site. For example, Ninja, one of the most popular Twitch streamers with almost 14 million followers, has streamed almost 4,000 hours of Fortnite and reached 298 million views with this game alone.
However, Fortnite’s leading success now has a new challenger. Apex Legends is also a free to play battle royale game similar to Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode. It was released just last month, February of 2019, by Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts. In just 30 days, Apex Legends has reached 50 million players worldwide. In comparison, it took Fortnite over 100 days to reach that same number of players.
Apex Legends exponentially rose to fame, as it employed the help of famous Twitch streamers. Ninja, mentioned early, reportedly made $1 million by promoting Apex Legends. Shroud, another popular streamer with almost 6 million fans, was also seen promoting the game. These powerful gaming influencers are helping Apex Legends dethrone Fortnite, as influential voices shaping the streaming community.
Now leading charts, Apex Legends is a visible threat to Fortnite’s previous domination. The new game exploded in the first month of release with 5 million hours of channel broadcast time and 115 million hours of viewer watch time on Twitch. Its average viewer count of over 160,000 rose 208 percent in the last 30 days and ranks first across Twitch.
In conclusion, the numbers speak for themselves. While Fortnite sets the bar high with a massive fan base and player amount, it’s not impossible to undermine the favorite. Apex Legends proves that underdogs do have a chance in the video streaming world, particularly through employing key figures in the space. Time will tell whether this is a new game phenomenon or a viable threat to Fortnite’s chokehold on online video gamers.
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This article was written by Carissa Brones.
