Rumors and memes continue to swirl around Epic’s live service game, Fortnite. Among the most popular rumors is the immediate prospect of Fortnite ending its service and shutting down. There are several reasons gamers have been preparing Fortnite’s funeral, not least of which was the mass layoffs that Epic underwent in 2023. So, is Fortnite shutting down in 2024? We’re here to explain and shed light on this question.
Will Fortnite Shut Down this Year?
As of January 2024, there isn’t any word from Epic Games about an eventual Fortnite shutdown. In fact, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see Fortnite servers going offline and all game modes halting any time soon.
One obvious reason Fortnite still has many years ahead of itself is the recent diversification of game modes. December 7th 2023 saw the popular release of LEGO Fortnite, a survival adventure game with Minifigure versions of different Fortnite characters. LEGO Fortnite had a higher player count than Battle Royale, with an average of two million daily players for its first couple of weeks. While the LEGO Fortnite player count is only averaging around 200,000 as of January, it’s still proven to be a popular new game mode.
In addition to LEGO Fortnite’s popularity, Epic released Rocket Racing and Fortnite Festival. The team behind Rocket League helped make Fortnite’s Rocket Racing. Harmonix, the studio behind Rock Band, similarly helped make the Fortnite Festival mode, which is basically Rock Band without the physical instruments.
Rocket Racing and Fortnite Festival aren’t quite as popular as LEGO Fortnite, but the inclusion of these fun game modes injects a ton of variety and continued interest in the Fortnite brand. Many new players are trying out these game modes and getting into Fortnite for the first time, as well as attracting previous players back. These game modes will likely get updates for years to come, just as the Battle Royale modes in Fortnite continue to get new Seasons.
Is Fortnite shutting down in 2024? Not for the foreseeable future. Despite mass layoffs over at Epic in 2023, there’s still a lot of life left in Fortnite. Layoffs were an unfortunate facet across game companies in 2023, so we’re hoping 2024 and beyond proves more stable for the industry.
