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Fortnite Passes 7 Million Player Mark, Offers Celebratory Bonuses
The sandbox survival multiplayer game has officially passed a big milestone.
In a post made to Fortnite's Twitter page, Epic Games revealed the game has reached 7 million active players. As a result, the game will be offering bonuses to the game's Battle Royale mode players to commemorate the occasion.
"Thanks to over 7 million of you who have played Fortnite," the post reads. "We want to keep the Battle Bus flying, so Duos and Supply Drops are available now."
Developed by Epic Games, the title was released for PS4, Xbox One, Mac, and PC on July 25, with a full free-to-play version set to release in 2018. In September, Epic launched a free standalone Battle Royale mode for those platforms as well that offers 100 player matches and incorporates the game's crafting and shooting mechanics. Epic didn't specify how this 7 million players number divides between the people who paid $40 for the base version and those who downloaded the free standalone battle royale mode.
The launch saw over one million players log in, but also drew criticism and controversy from Bluehole Studio Inc. for its similarity to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' gameplay and comparisons made to PUBG during marketing, with the developer even threatening further actions. For Leo Vadar's breakdown of the similarities and differences between the two games, click here.
[Source: Fortnite Twitter]
Our Take
The new Battle Royale mode continues to prove itself as a boon for Fortnite and Epic. While it's still unclear whether Bluehole will take any actions for the similarities between it and PUBG, the game continues to reap the benefits of the genre's popularity.
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