Fortnite’s Popularity is Waning – but It’s Still Shattering Gaming Records
Epic Games' trippy Fortnite and Travis Scott Present: Astronomical virtual performance drew in a massive 12.3 m concurrent players.
Fortnite is facing competition as the battle-royale king against the likes of Call of Duty: Warzone, but the game's enduring popularity remains.| Source: Ina FASSBENDER / AFP
- Over 12.3 million players tuned in to watch the ‘Fortnite and Travis Scott Present: Astronomical’ event yesterday.
- The event now holds the all-time record for the battle royale shooter.
- The concert itself was ten minutes of trippy visuals and kaleidoscopic lights.
A staggering 12.3 million people took part in Fortnite’s Travis Scott virtual concert yesterday.
Epic Games took to Twitter to share the news, noting that the concurrent player count marked a new record for the battle royale shooter, surpassing last year’s event featuring musical artist Marshmello, which itself drew in an impressive 10 million people.
Epic Games’ figure presumably only takes into account those in-game at the time of the virtual performance. The number doesn’t seem to factor in those watching courtesy of streams on Twitch and the like, which should inflate viewership considerably.
10 Trippy Minutes of Kaleidoscopic Visuals
Epic has touted ‘Fortnite and Travis Scott Present: Astronomical’ as a musical journey and other-worldly experience. To anyone who tuned in yesterday, it’s clear Epic piled on the resources to cook up an ambitious interactive treat for the Fortnite community.
The concert itself was an odd ten minutes of trippy visuals and kaleidoscopic lights. An oversized replica of Travis Scott stomped across Fortnite’s island lip-syncing to the his standout tracks.
From the player’s perspective, the island evolved progressively as the show bore on. Each successive song transporting viewers from ever-more fantastical settings: a fiery theme park to a cosmic dance floor with portions of the show spent underwater and levitating above a planet. On top of this, players were free to move around as they saw fit to catch glimpses of Scott in action from different viewing angles.
Epic Games Sets The Bar Even Higher
Despite Epic Games setting the bar with the in-game spectacles that have come to define Fortnite, the Travis Scott concert pushed the envelope, even by those standards. Surreal, carefully orchestrated, and thrilling for players, it was a mesmerizing window into the potential of digital performances.
Unlike previous in-game events, Fortnite’s Travis Scott show isn’t a one-off. Epic Games is hosting multiple shows across the next couple of days at different times to cater to players worldwide.
Here they are if you fancy dropping in to witness the spectacle yourself:
- Friday, Apr 24, 2020, 12 AM GMT+1 and 3 PM GMT+1
- Saturday, Apr 25, 2020, 5 AM GMT+1, 4 PM GMT+1, and 11 PM GMT+1