The Fall of Fortnite

Late 2019 has been a fairly strange time for the gaming industry. Fortnite Chapter 2 hype has died down, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Fallout 76 aren’t very popular, and Minecraft has still been on the rise. Over the past two years, gaming trends have completely shifted in part along with meme culture, as Minecraft and PewDiePie helped (although not significantly) to shift the tide towards old games. Nostalgia has been revived among many gamers as old games like Minecraft and Skyrim have been brought back from the grave. The trend is also evident within the Class of 2021. 

In a recent survey conducted with around 30 members of the Class of 2021, graph trends show that, while Fortnite has still kept some momentum, Minecraft has completely taken over in the past two years, with around 75% of the population having reported that they play Minecraft. Fortnite, on the other hand, is reported to be played only among 39% of the population. Games like Apex Legends and Super Smash Bros Ultimate, having been released recently, have helped to “take away” some players from Fortnite, most probably contributing to the number of people who have changed to grab a fresh experience.

Following up that data, only 42.9% of surveyors have reported that they stuck with their initial games. Others, including a majority of those who played Fortnite, have reported that the game felt too dragged out and repetitive. This makes sense with every Fortnite season. While there were huge map changes, it was easy to adapt to them within a short amount of time. Thus, weeks would go by of standard, unchanged gameplay with mediocre nerfs/buffs every week. The only true major change that has really happened was Fortnite Chapter 2.

Overall, it’s pleasing to see this kind of change happening with games like Fortnite. In my opinion, I’ve felt as if Fortnite had it good for too long and that other games deserve a chance to shine. Not to mention, having to deal with toxic 12-year-olds in Fortnite is not fun at all.