Effective Broadcasting
Fortnite is the hottest game on Twitch right now, comfortably recording the highest concurrent viewership on Twitch. Epic needs to get in on the action with its own channel and use it to drive interest in the game from a competitive standpoint. Having popular Fortnite streamers such as Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins promote this new avenue of the game would surely make a tremendous difference in raising awareness for the game as an esport. From there, Epic could use their follower base to stream competitive matches and tournaments in-house, in addition to anywhere else externally.
Twitch, of course, is not the only streaming site where Fortnite is popular. Mixer and YouTube also have large amounts of players streaming Fortnite, which Epic needs to consolidate to make sure it has every platform covered.
Yet, that doesn’t yet solve the issue of how best to broadcast battle royale games in the first place. We know people love to watch individual streamers, but how are competitive games to be effectively showcased to the audience? As it currently stands, Fortnite does not have a proper spectator mode. When you are killed, you can view either your other teammates if they are still alive or the player that killed you if no allied players are remaining, but that doesn’t give you an idea of what else is happening around the map. Obviously, a more sophisticated system would be needed at some point.
While the concept of battle royale is simple enough, relaying the events of 100 different players is a logistical challenge. With the addition of the new replay editor that was given to players in a free update, Epic has shown they are capable of showcasing everything that is happening on the map. Players can re-watch past matches in an aerial drone view to see what was going on in areas, and battles they were not a part of. Implementing a similar system for live matches will give more flexibility in showing exciting battles going on around the map.
