The crazes of late 2017 and early 2018 are the massively popular video games of Fortnite and PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds (PUBG). These games have exploded in popularity with Fortnite reaching record amounts of players in February of this year. According to Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite, “Fortnite reached 3.4 million concurrent users. As it stands now, the game’s transformation has only helped its popularity.” This nearly surpassed the peak 3.2 million players on PUBG. So, why are so many people drawn to these games?

On the surface, one hundred people are in a plane that flies over an island. Players can form teams of four or go at it alone before deciding where to drop and gather loot to kill the other players. The goal of every game is to eliminate all other players; this means to get the infamous “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” of PUBG, or “Victory Royale” of Fortnite. The point of the game revolves around making smart decisions when playing solo and putting trust in teammates when playing in squads. No one wants to play with someone who tries to do flashy plays to impress teammates only to get down and blame the others.

Junior Jake Carter said, “Fortnite is the greatest game of this generation.” Many people enjoy the building aspects of Fortnite. It provides another level of difficulty to eliminating one’s opponents. “The building in the game makes it significantly better than any other battle royale”

Many people prefer Fortnite over PUBG because Fortnite is a free-to-play game. It is available on all recent game consoles and is a great way to connect with friends. Sophomore Josh Ponce stated, “It’s an amazing game. It brings back the Halo days when you collaborate with your friends. There hasn’t been a game like that since, and Fortnite brings it back.”

Actually one of our students Elijah Sternthal a freshman at CHS took place in a Fortnite tournament and won one of the nines games that took place. Post game he shared his reactions to what just happened and his expectations before the game, Sternthal said, “I don’t even know what to say it was crazy.” Sternthal shared what his expectations were before going into the game,”I never thought I’d win.”

Fortnite and other Battle Royale games have been vastly popular among gamers. From its fast-paced action and short waiting times makes it the perfect pass time activity and way to bring new friends together.