Its addicting gameplay and frequent updates have helped it expand to the point where it has surpassed its closest competitor, PUBG. In addition to being available on console and PC, Epic Games introduced a mobile version of the game last month, which saw the game’s popularity skyrocket. So, when did Fortnite first launch, and how many people are currently playing it?
Fortnite has become such a household brand in the world of video games that it’s difficult to recall a period when it didn’t exist. However, Fortnite isn’t exactly a relic of the past. Players who are curious about when Fortnite was released will not have to go too far back in time to learn about the game’s history, including its original release dates and platforms.
When was Fortnite made? Creation and initial release dates
In July of 2017, Fortnite was released for the first time. It was first conceptualized during an internal game jam somewhere around 2011 by Epic Games’ famous team. According to a 2014 report from Game Informer, the game’s creative inspiration was the creation of a game that combined features of shooting games with those of construction-based games like Minecraft. Fortnite would go through multiple major revisions throughout the years before being published as a paid early access product on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in July 2017. Though paying users were given access to Founder’s Packs, the game quickly became fully free-to-play, complete with all the trappings of games-as-service titles, such as the availability of purchased skins and other cosmetic items.
There was a moment in Fortnite’s history around the time of its initial release when PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was swiftly gaining traction, and Epic Games saw an opportunity to include the famous “battle royale” gameplay mode into Fortnite. Epic would soon distinguish the two gaming modes by naming the default Fortnite gameplay mode Save the World, whilst what most players today refer to as Fortnite was (and still is) known as Fortnite Battle Royale. On September 26, 2017, Fortnite Battle Royale was released as a free-to-play game. Later this year, Fortnite Save the World will be free to play. Fortnite for iOS was released in March 2018, and a beta version of the game was released for Android devices in August of 2018. On June 12, 2018, Fortnite was released on the Nintendo Switch.
Except for the PlayStation 4, which finally got cross-platform compatibility in September of 2018, all systems got cross-play soon after. So, when did Fortnite get started? Epic Games had been working on it for roughly six years before it was launched, so the answer isn’t straightforward. In a nutshell, Fortnite was released in September 2017 and was initially accessible for download on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
