History of Fortnite in Timeline

Fortnite, launched in 2017 by Epic Games, is a multifaceted online video game platform featuring several distinct game modes. The most popular is Fortnite Battle Royale, a free-to-play battle royale where 100 players compete to be the last one standing. Other modes include Fortnite: Save the World, a cooperative tower defense and survival game; Fortnite Creative, offering players freedom to build worlds and arenas; Lego Fortnite, an open world game collection divided between Lego Fortnite Odyssey and Lego Fortnite Brick Life; Rocket Racing, a racing game; Fortnite Festival, a rhythm game; and Fortnite Ballistic, a tactical first-person shooter currently in early access. All modes except Save the World are free-to-play.

2011: Fortnite Game Jam

In 2011, Fortnite began from an internal game jam at Epic Games, following the publishing of Gears of War 3. The concept of merging the construction game genre and shooter games arose, leading to the foundation of Fortnite.

March 2017: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

In March 2017, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds was released. Epic Games recognized this and developed their own battle royale mode.

July 2017: Paid Early Access Release

In July 2017, Epic Games released Fortnite as a paid early access title.

August 2017: Save the World Player Count Milestone

By August 2017, the Save the World mode had achieved over one million players.

September 2017: Fortnite Battle Royale Release

In September 2017, Epic Games released Fortnite Battle Royale as a free game supported by microtransactions.

2017: Fortnite Release

In 2017, Epic Games developed and released Fortnite, an online video game platform with multiple game mode versions sharing gameplay and the same game engine.

2017: Early Access Release of Save the World and Battle Royale

In 2017, Epic Games released Save the World and Battle Royale as early access titles.

March 2018: Streaming Event with Ninja and Celebrities

In March 2018, a streaming event with streamer Ninja playing Fortnite Battle Royale alongside Drake, Travis Scott, Kim DotCom, and JuJu Smith-Schuster broke viewership records for Twitch.

June 2018: Fortnite Battle Royale Reaches 125 Million Players

By June 2018, Fortnite Battle Royale had reached 125 million players, just after the Nintendo Switch release.

Nintendo Switch™ with Neon Blue and Neon Red Joy‑Con™

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June 2018: Fortnite Battle Royale Pro-Am at E3 2018

In June 2018, Epic arranged a Fortnite Battle Royale pro–am with streamers, professional players, and celebrities at E3 2018.

December 6, 2018: Creative Mode Release

On December 6, 2018, Epic Games released Fortnite Creative.

2018: Awards and Nominations

In 2018, Fortnite won the award for Best Ongoing Game by PC Gamer and IGN, the latter of which nominated it for "Best Nintendo Switch Game", "Best Mobile Game", and "Best Action Game".

July 2019: Inaugural Fortnite World Cup Tournament

In July 2019, the inaugural US$30 million Fortnite World Cup tournament took place.

December 2019: Fortnite Revenue

By December 2019, Fortnite had generated $9 billion in gross revenue.

2019: Total Fortnite Revenue

By the end of 2019, total revenue for Fortnite reached more than $9 billion.

2019: Plans for Free-to-Play

In 2019, Epic Games originally planned to release the game as free-to-play.

June 29, 2020: Save the World Full Release

On June 29, 2020, Epic Games fully released Save the World as a premium title, bringing it out of early access.

2020: FNCS Organized by Epic Games

In 2020, the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) was organized by Epic Games.

2021: FNCS Organized by Epic Games

In 2021, the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) was again organized by Epic Games.

2022: FNCS Organized by Blast ApS

Starting in 2022, the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) was organized by Blast ApS.

March 2023: Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) Release

In March 2023, Epic Games released the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), a standalone editor for Windows that allows creators to develop new modes within Fortnite Creative.

October 2023: Redesign of Fortnite Client

In October 2023, Epic redesigned the main Fortnite client to present various modes as part of Fortnite Experiences.

December 2023: Introduction of New Game Modes

In December 2023, Epic introduced three new game modes: Lego Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival, each offered as free-to-play.

2023: Expansion of Game Modes and Battle Passes

In 2023, Fortnite expanded its game modes and introduced additional battle passes, including the Festival Pass for Fortnite Festival and Lego Pass for Lego Fortnite.

March 2024: UEFN Improvements Announced

In March 2024, Epic announced numerous improvements in UEFN, including the addition of Unreal Engine's MetaHuman character rendering technology.

December 2024: Changes to Battle Pass Mechanics and Fortnite Crew

In December 2024, Epic changed the battle pass mechanics, allowing progression through experience points earned in any Fortnite game mode, and renamed the Festival Pass to Music Pass. The Fortnite Crew subscription was also expanded.