Epic Games
Exploring the wider Fortnite universe and backstory
As most people know, Fortnite wasn’t always a Battle Royale game. The original game had a long and complex backstory, that has had impacts on Fortnite BR.
Fortnite as we know it today is the product of one of the most insanely successful pivots in gaming history.
Epic Games was a relatively smaller studio best known for the Gears of War series and its incredibly successful Unreal game engine.
About two years ago at this time, Epic Games was working on a complex third-person shooter/survival game called Fortnite: Save the World.
The game had an anticipatory following and had been in development for years with the first trailer being released all the way back in 2011.
To fund that game, Epic had been licensing out their Unreal engine to other developers in a variety of genres. The engine was – and still is – considered one of the best in the industry.
One developer who wanted to use that engine was a Korean company named Bluehole.
They needed it to make a full-fledged game based off of a mod to Arma 2 created by Brendan Greene.
Greene is better known as his online handle: PlayerUnknown. Bluehole was creating PUBG, a game that would help mainstream the Battle Royale format and make it the hottest game category for the next two years.
Over at Epic’s studio, they see their engine being used for an absurdly popular title, and they wanted in.
They took the team that had been working on Save The World and transfered the majority of them over to working on a new offshoot, Fortnite: Battle Royale.
Just six months after PUBG released, Fortnite BR came out and stole a lot of the player base from its predecessor.
There is a lot more on that relationship between Bluehole, Epic
What does the Fortnite universe look like?
This article was inspired by a popular post on Reddit that does a more comprehensive look at some of the key events that have happened in BR and more info from STW.
That post is here, and I encourage reading it. It is quite long though, and if you want a summary, I will have one at the bottom with more information on some key points.
The creator of the post wrote an edit after publishing that said they made some mistakes and didn’t explain some concepts out fully.
That is to be expected when dealing with something like multi-verses, but I still feel like there are things that can be learned through this post and despite some possible inaccuracies, the post is mostly correct.
The Entire Story and How the Fortnite Rifts/Multiverse Works (I promise you didn’t know some of this stuff) from r/FortNiteBR
If you read all of that, I commend you. I’ll go into some key points worth highlighting, but first, let’s go over the edits and why the creator of the post felt the need to make them.
The problems with this post
The reason why people called out inaccuracies, and why the original poster (OP) admitted to them, was because the OP made a couple jumps in logic but presented them as fact.
We don’t know if the iceberg in Season 7 came out of a rift from another dimension. Yes, it did appear right at the same time the cube went crazy, but we can’t say definitively the cube sent the ice storm.
A shard of the cube was attached to the Ice King and the Ice Monsters shared a ton of similarities with the Cube Monsters, so it’s entirely reasonable that the two are connected to some larger story. But we don’t know that for certain.
Another educated guess not entirely correct is when the OP says that all the people in the in-between are people from Fortnite games.
The servers absolutely would not be able to handle that, so they aren’t millions of people, but they may still represent that. If you were playing squads of duos at this time, you may remember seeing your mate in this area.
Everyone saw the screen at the same time, so the goal was likely to represent that everyone had traveled there, it just isn’t correct to say what you see in that moment was literally other players who also could see you.
Just taking some educated guesses at the story and it’s connections is totally valid, and I feel like the OP gave away credibility by calling their own post “crummy.”
I read every single comment on the post and the majority of the 225 are positive. The negative ones accuse the OP of either not adding anything to the conversation, or making educated guesses but presenting them as fact.
The educated guesses are entirely reasonable to make and the post clearly provided interesting info to enough people to reach the top half of the front page, so it is not worth writing off in its entirety.
The best parts of the post
For people unfamiliar with the backstory, the links provided in this post are great resources. The Canny Valley story from Save the World, the infographic of the known history of The Cube and the video presenting the arrival of The Cube are all solid sources of information.
There are also some breaks of both humor and nostalgia as the post revisits events from past seasons.
The information itself is solid, especially as it relates to the cube and the multi-verse theories more directly adapted from Save The World. It only gets into educated guess territory towards the end when thinking about the Ice and Fire Kings.
It serves as a good overview showing what we know so far, and for people who don’t follow the story line in Fortnite religiously, you will probably learn something new.
It’s fun to speculate on the future of the game, and this post provides a great jumping off point for a variety of conversations.
What do you think? Did you learn something new?
All Platforms
Fortnite adds new movement mechanics to Save The World with v21.20 update
Finally Epic Games have added major updates to its PvE Save The World campaign with the latest v21.20 update. Here’s the latest on that.
After a long time finally, Fortnite’s PvE campaign Save the World receives major updates with v21.20 and players cannot be happier. It has been almost a year since the game received an update with the latest game mechanics and things are looking good for the game mode more than ever.
Save The World campaign has been around in Fortnite ever since its initial days. Some OG players would say that the game mode itself was the actual Fortnite and still is due to its originality in the storyline and the classic graphics it boasts.
During Chapter 2 of the Battle Royale game mode, players slowly parted ways with Save The World, once it came out of Early Access and was accessible to anyone who bought a special cosmetic pack from the Item Shop. As a result, Epic also stopped updating the game mode with the latest mechanics and features and instead shifted its focus to Battle Royale.
But ever since the launch of Chapter 3, when Epic decided to add animals to the PvE campaign, players were hoping to finally get some latest Sprint, Mantle, and Crouch mechanics to the game mode soon enough. Looks like the day has finally arrived and Epic has indeed added some major updates to the game mode.
Epic adds new Movement Mechanics to Save The World in the latest update
Save The World game mode has just received a major update in the form of the latest movement mechanics as Sprinting, Sliding, Mantling, Crouching, and Shoulder Bashing Doors gets added to it. Now players can use the latest movement mechanics they have been using in Battle Royale game mode in Save The World and fight the Husk Monsters in their own unique way.
Fortnite also posted some clips on their official blog alongside the Homebase Status report v21.20 of how players can use the Ninja hero in their loadout and climb greater heights by combining the mantle feature with a double jump.
In addition to these features, Epic also added Fennix as the next hero to enter the PvE campaign and has given a dedicated questline called Flight of the Fennix to the character. Players can now jump in the game and complete quests linked to Fennix to acquire the hero in their loadout and use its ferocious powers to Save The World.
As Epic continues to improve the stability of its Battle Royale and Creative game modes, it is surely pleasing to see that finally Save The World is receiving a similar treatment with major changes being made to improve its gameplay experience. Nevertheless, the player base speculates in the coming days the PvE will also receive the popular Overshield feature as they experience in Zero Build as well as some new weapons added to their loadout.
All Platforms
What are Social Tags in Fortnite Season 3 and how to use them?
Social Tags are finally here in Fortnite and players can connect with random players across the world based on their preferences. Here’s how you can use them.
Fortnite Season 3 has introduced players to several new features, a new UI and a more colorful island to drop in. One of these most awaited and heavily rumored features was Social Tags. Now that it’s finally here, players are loving how it adds their in-game personality to their profile.
Loopers are enjoying every bit about the latest Chapter 3 Season 3. From ballers, exciting new POIs, the brand new Reality Sapling loot system, all the new additions accompany one another in a perfect manner.
However, the user interface options in Fortnite have stayed stagnant for a long period of time and required a major overhaul with the evolution of the gameplay. With the addition of Explore and game playlists options earlier this year, Epic showed its player base about the potential of what Fortnite can be.
In addition to all these features, something felt missing that allowed players to connect with other active players who have similar interests and the way they play Fortnite. Enter Social Tags which were added in the most recent v21.10 update. Here’s what they are and how you can use them.
Use Social Tags to define your choices and find similar players in Fortnite
Social Tags in Fortnite are basically name tags you can add to your Fortnite profile on the sidebar section. These tags signify how you play Fortnite and you can get recommendations on the Explore Menu of similar experiences.
If you enjoy a certain Battle Royale or Creative mode, you can add a tag for it. One player at max, can add 3 tags to their profile. It could be a mix of Creative, Battle Royale which bbasically have gameplay modes and Miscellaneous which has more options like Chill, Quests, Mic On etc.
To apply Social Tags to your profile, do the following steps:
- Click on your profile icon in the left sidebar.
- Select +Add Tag option on your profile.
- Add social tags from the list available there.
- Save and confirm the selected tags. (Max 3)
Once assigned, they will show up on your profile and would tell others how you choose to play Fortnite. Furthermore, you can head to Looking For A Party option on the left sidebar, right above settings to search for random players who play Fortnite the way you do.
It will then show a list of players who are active currently in-game and are in the lobby with how many players. Moreover, you can send them a party invite or a request to join your party. You can also choose to turn off this option.
This feature promotes healthy connectivity between players who play Fortnite in a similar way and helps prevent toxicity between Casuals and Sweats in the game. Additionally, it creates a healthy divide between the two communities if one enjoys grinding Arenas while others purely enjoy Public matches.
All Platforms
How to get the Skate Park Royalty STW pack in Fortnite Season 3
New Season, New Save The World pack hits the Item Shop. Here’s how you can get it.
Fortnite’s seasonal Save The World packs always offer a great cosmetic item, a bunch of V-Bucks and access to the exclusive PVE campaign that OG players still love. This season brings a fresh cosmetic Skate Park Royalty pack to the shop and loopers are digging it’s vibe.
Ever since Save The World came out of Early Access, it has been fairly accessible to all players alike as it comes along with a separate item shop pack which not only offers the game, but rewards that loopers can use in Battle Royale modes as well. Gone are the days when upon purchasing a STW pack used to give daily V-Bucks to players and Bonus Quests where they could farm V-Bucks.
As some would say the game mode is nearly dead, Fortnite keeps updating its world every once in a while and keeps on fixing its issues so it stays intact with its niche community of players. From adding animals to the game to introducing new Loot Llamas, Epic has been putting in the work to keep the game alive while they can.
However, the only thing about the mode that attracts the player base is the bonus cosmetics and V-Bucks a player gets upon purchasing the game mode. With the launch of Season 3, where the island is colorful and loopers are vibing, a skater appears in the latest STW pack.
Fortnite releases Skate Park Royalty Pack to Season 3
Fortnite announced the latest Save The World pack this season named Skate Park Royalty Pack. The pack includes cosmetics like the Toni outfit, Ollie Oop Backbling, Inline Impacter Pickaxe which are all skate themed.
Moreover, the pack rewards the players with an exclusive access to Save the World PVE Campaign as well as a whopping 1500 V-Bucks to use across all game modes. However, the price of the pack is $15.99 USD (US) | £12.99 Pound Sterling (UK) .
Loopers can purchase this pack from Epic Games Store or the Fortnite Item Shop. The pack received positive reviews from the player base and pros who are regular buyers of STW packs and stands its reputation alongside Metal Team Leader and more OG STW skins.
However, the future seems bright for Save the World players as features like Gyro and Flick Stick and Vault/Sprint are yet to be added to the game, which might be a possibility soon. Although more will be revealed later this season as the first update v21.10 drops today.
How to get the Dish Destroyer pickaxe in Fortnite Season 3
Another exclusive pickaxe arrives to Fortnite in Season 3 and it sure looks quite different. Here's how you can get...
Fortnite players call on Epic Games to fix Loot Chests bug in Season 3
As the latest Fortnite Season 3 update brought players a No Sweat Summer, it left a weird bug in the...
Fortnite introduces the new Prime Shotgun in update v21.30
Prime Shotgun is the latest game breaking weapon that has been added to Fortnite in v21.30. Here's all about the...