The new hit game Fortnite has seeped into every aspect of many students’ daily lives. Students say that they are not affected by the game, but research says otherwise. Why is the new game so popular and why do so many play? There are numerous facets of the game ranging from multiplayer to multiple game modes which cause students to play Fortnite regardless of the possible academic consequences. But some feel that games like Fortnite can serve as a social atmosphere or environment.

Some students say that Fortnite does not affect their school work such as sophomore Kellen Brown, who says “I usually do homework first.” Other students, like Senior Dil Thiagarajan say that they “[prefer] to finish my homework.” This responsibility is not universal as some students prioritize video games ahead of their school work, and in some cases much more. Sophomore Alex Cowan says that the game definitely does take time away from some people’s homework, which is supported by research and instances given by teachers. In an article from Kotaku, an AP Computer Science teacher, Nick Gutierrez says, “I have noticed in my room students sitting next to each other trying to play while pretending to do work.” While this may not be universally true, Fortnite does have some effect on school. Junior Carson Kimball has experienced this effect and claims, “[Fortnite] takes time from homework.” However even with the academic consequences people continue to play.

One of the main attractions of the game is the multiplayer capabilities. The game allows for small groups of 1-4 to face other groups of 1-4 in order to be the last “squad” with a surviving member. The system employs the use of friends that can be cross-platform, using Epic Games accounts to keep friends, rather than console- or provider-specific teams. This technology is revolutionary, and while some platforms have advantages over the others, many play for the social aspect of the game. Many agreed that the social aspect of the game was their favorite part. Junior Jasmine Maynard-Zhang says, “Most of my social life is surrounding video games.” Zhang, however, makes a point of balance saying, “But it is important to have balance, because gaming is not my entire social sphere.” Others agree that the communication and social aspects of the game are not necessarily negative, such as senior Lauren Milne. Milne says, “I think people are more social. [They] are still interacting.” The social aspects of the game prove to be both revolutionary and very alluring.

In addition to the revolutionary cross-platform play, the game design is not as new. It is an evolution of H1Z1 and Player-Unknown’s-Battleground(PUBG). H1Z1 was the precursor to both PUBG and Fortnite, as it was the first Battle-Royale game. The difference between all of these games are the graphics. The graphics of Fortnite are much less realistic than H1Z1 or PUBG. The graphics, which are not as realistic may have a different impact on violence tendencies than others. Milne says, “People see fortnite guns as lesser. So actual violence is seen as more important,” which may lead to less violence. Others believe there is no effect on violence from video games, such as Cowan who says it is not a problem until “someone cannot separate the game from life.” However there is another view that violence desensitizes people, and freshman Meghana Annamaneni says, “[It can] give expectations of violence that are not real.” While there are some negative effects of the game, some use it to relax and simply enjoy the game.
The game’s main attraction is the primal instinct “kill or be killed.” The games primary goal is the same as the Hunger Games, which is to say survive. There are many approaches to achieve this goal. Annamaneni says the main reason people keep playing the game is because of this goal.

Most of those who play, however, feel that the team aspect is the most important and that the game will stay around until people are no longer talking about it. The main reason for the game’s success as Milne says is that “word of mouth [is a contributing factor].” The effect of this widespread communication and future obsession in many can be seen through the professional TwitchTV streamer Ninja reached over 600K simultaneous viewers. This broke his previous world record of concurrent viewers. The growth in the short time is due to the growing popularity is how many people keep talking about the game and influencing others to follow and join.

The popularity of Fortnite continually grows and keeps people playing while other games have faltered. Some also say that some of the continued support of the game is due to the continual updating and relatively little setup.

Although most games like Fortnite begin to fade off, people keep playing Fortnite because of the rewards that can be achieved each season. It is also partially due to the fact that the game is not pay to win, and it is competitive for every person whether or not they decide to invest in the aspects of the game that are not free.

As the popularity of Fortnite is increasing due to friend groups spreading the game and playing together the importance of the social aspect of games remains important. Senior Andrew Lee says, “Studios profit more off multiplayer games because people play them longer, but [these games are] not necessarily good for their brand.” On the contrary, many believe Fortnite is solely a fad. Cowan says, “I do not think the game will last that long.” Whether Fortnite is able to stay in the spotlight is up to how long the circular peer pressure while last. Lee also says, “Sony has built up a brand of high-quality single player games such as God of War, and The Last of Us, and people play them once and get them over with, unlike multiplayer, which people will not really care about the next game.” This gives more profit to the companies who produce single player, cinematic, campaign-based games. The antithesis also has some footing as some believe the social aspect of Fortnite is very important to both the players and the game itself. The reliance of the game on the social aspect of is clear in the its spreading popularity and who plays. This is seen with friend groups who all play or some entire groups that do do not play. Furthermore, those who play multiplayer receive some social exposure in the form of the game, improving communication skills, and also limiting potential isolation. According to Milne, some of the positive aspects of the game are “cooperation,” and “more intellectually stimulating.” Many gamers fall prey to playing single player games that may not need as much updating or local awareness. The benefits of the social aspect are twofold in that there are benefits to more than just development but also allowing friendships to form.

The game is free to play, but profited $126 million in February. The main portion of this is the “battle pass,” which is about $10. The size of the game contributes with 3.4 million players simultaneously logged in and active. If only those on the game at that time purchased the “battle pass” the amount would be 34 million. This concurrent count was on PC, which sources estimate that 20 percent of PC gamers play Fortnite. Those who play, such as Thiagarajan, say the battle pass is worth it. He deems it a “great purchase” and has “no regrets.” Others also recommend the purchase as it is a sustainable purchase, which means if the battle pass is purchased it can be purchased the next season without spending more money. This is achieved through the rewards that captivate many. Senior Dil Thiagarajan, his brother Sid, as well as Kimbell and Brown all have purchased the battle pass. There is a unanimous decision that the battle pass was a worthwhile purchase.