Fortnite’s First Competitive Season Will Kick off in a Big Way

Just like their take on the battle royale genre, Epic Games is going to make a big splash in the 2018-2019 competitive video games season.

In the upcoming season, which will also serve as Fortnite’s first foray into official competition, Epic Games will provide $100 million to fund prize pools around the world.

Yes. You read that right. $100 million.

According to Epic Games, they’re not only funding prize pools in a big way but they’re also planning to take a different approach to competitive play.

“We’re getting behind competitive play in a big way, but our approach will be different–we plan to be more inclusive, and focused on the joy of playing and watching the game,” a blog post by Epic Games reads.

As if Fornite Battle Royale wasn’t already at the forefront of video game conversation, the game is sure to take a massive leap in the competitive field now with that much money being tossed in.

That’s all of the info Epic Games had to announce today but they ask that those interested stay tuned as in the coming weeks, the company plans to detail competitive structures and eligible platforms.

It will be interesting to see how competitive play in Fortnite Battle Royale plays out. Epic Games recently tested a new solo competitive mode that asked players to compete in 50 different solo matches. The players who came out in the top 100 after placing with 50 matches are each to be rewarded with free v-bucks, which are the in-game currency that can be earned by playing or purchased with real money. First place is set to receive 50,000 v-bucks. Second place gets 25,000 v-bucks. Third place gets 13,500 and fourth place gets 7,500. The others in the top 100 will also receive v-bucks but it is unknown how much they’ll receive.

This solo competition, which Epic Games dubbed Solo Showdown, was put into the game last week during the usual Tuesday update as a way for Epic Games to experiment with how competitive Fornite might play out. Maybe Solo Showdown is the route Epic Games plans to go with upcoming competitive season but for now, only time will tell.