‘Fortnite’ brings 2018 map back starting this Friday (3); understand – 11/03/2023 – Tech

Starting this Friday (3), the “Fortnite” map should return to how it was in 2018, the year in which the game exploded and became one of the most popular in the world.

Epic Games announced on October 27 that the next season of its flagship game will involve time travel back to Chapter 1, banking on the nostalgia of its first players.

The online game consists of one hundred players facing each other on a huge map whose available area decreases throughout the game. In this genre of games known as battle royale, the objective is to be the last survivor.

“Fortnite” is divided into chapters and seasons, with new mechanics, equipment and customization options being released with each update.

This means that a player who knows the best strategies in one version can be outperformed in the next. Today, the game is in its fourth season of Chapter 4.

Called “Chapter 4: Season OG”, the season should serve as a brief experiment for the launch of Chapter 5, when more important changes occur in the game. The version should last about a month, according to Forbes magazine.

Even though the map is that of Chapter 1, the game must work with the features and modes it has received over the last five years.

The launch comes amid a stagnation in interest in the game. According to data from Google Trends, searches for “Fortnite” are at one of the lowest levels since the peak seen in 2018.

At the same time, according to data for September from the Newzoo consultancy, focused on the video game market, the game still appears among the three most popular on the PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox platforms, suggesting loyalty from existing players.

Epic Games also recently announced that it will implement on November 14 a rating system for experiences developed in “Fortnite”, such as maps and game modes created by the community. The game will feature new parental control options so that those responsible can have more supervision over access to content not suitable for all ages.

In April, the company announced the purchase of Brazilian game studio Aquiris, based in Porto Alegre. The developer became a subsidiary under the name Epic Games Brasil, the video game giant’s first studio in Latin America.

Epic Games made a brief reference to its plans for “Fortnite” when its CEO, Tim Sweeney, announced the layoff of 830 people, 16% of the payroll, including professionals from the former Aquiris. Questioned by Sheet At the time, the company did not reveal the number of employees fired in Brazil.

Epic said its work on the next season and chapter of “Fortnite” remained a priority for the company, suggesting there was one more season to come before Chapter 5 was released.

According to the website Eurogamer, Epic is also developing three other major projects in “Fortnite”, whose codenames are Del Mar, Sparks and Juno. Plans could be related to a racing mode, a collaboration with Lego and a music experience.