If you are wondering why Fortnite is so popular even after seven years of game development, the answer likely lies in the return of Fortnite OG.
This update attracted not only those who played the early seasons of Fortnite, but also newcomers who wanted in on the excitement. Many of the popular Fortnite streamers also returned to capitalize on the game’s popularity and even add to it.
The rumor of Fortnite Season OG began on October 10th, 2023 when Epic Games posted an image of Kado Thorne, a boss introduced during Chapter 4 Season 4, standing near a time machine. A date was displayed above the machine: 2018 07 12, the first day Chapter 1 Season 5 was released.
Epic Games later explained via X that Chapter 1 would return in Season 5 and would cycle through the various seasons for the month of November into the early days of December.
On November 3, 2023, Epic Games launched Fortnite Chapter 4 Season OG, which brought back many of the original game’s features, including weapons, mobility, settings, and the map itself.
This return broke Fortnite’s all-time one-day record, attracting over 44 million players and a total of 102 million hours of play within the day. It was reported that 100 million players had logged on to the game throughout November.
Like the creators of Fortnite and many of the players, streamers too enjoyed the new (old) season. Many vouched for Epic Games to continue to keep Fortnite OG in the game as a separate game mode; this idea has yet to be confirmed or denied, but based on Season OG’s popularity, it seems to be something to consider.
Despite its popularity, some, who played the game when it first came out, felt it wasn’t quite the same.
“I think it’s a success, but it’s not as good as it used to be,”Fortnite streamer SavageMike said.
The return of Fortnite OG was meant to catch the attention of gamers across all platforms to attract an audience for what Fornite had planned next.
“We had a goal of re-activating a lot of our 500 million accounts that maybe weren’t playing Fortnite anymore, and thought Fortnite was just a battle royale,” Saxs Persson, Epic’s executive VP, said. He wanted players to realize that the game had evolved greatly and “OG was [just] the first step”.
Following Fortnite Season OG, Epic developed three games, each targeting different audiences – Lego Fortnite, Fortnite Festival, and Fortnite Battle Royale. Epic hoped that, with the popularity of Fortnite OG, players would try these new, varied game modes.
Many have mixed feelings about the most recent season, although Fornite seems to be maintaining its popularity.
“The OG season far exceeded our expectations, [so much that] we’d like to bring it back,”user @FortniteGame on X said.
After this announcement, players anticipate Fortnite OG will return in 2024.It is unclear, however, as to when or how it will be released.