Fortnite Battle Royale has experienced a remarkable journey, transitioning from the most talked-about game to one that many young players now find “cringy” because of its collaborations and changing reputation among peers.
On September 26, 2017, Epic Games released Fortnite to the public, introducing a fresh twist to the battle royale genre. At that time, popular battle royale games like PUBG and H1Z1 dominated the scene, primarily consisting of players running around and engaging in shootouts until only one person remained. Fortnite distinguished itself with its unique building mechanics and cartoonish art style, captivating players when it first launched. Initially, everyone was new to the game, unsure how to effectively utilize its building mechanic—until one player, Ninja, changed the game. Ninja quickly became the best Fortnite player, showcasing incredible aim and mastery of the building mechanic. He dominated lobbies and became a household name, as no one else could build like him at that time.
Fortnite’s Season 2 introduced the battle pass and new Points of Interest (POIs) like Tilted Towers, Shifty Shafts, Snobby Shores, Haunted Hills, and Junk Junction. Released in April 2018, the first-ever Fortnite battle pass was widely loved, and it helped bring even more players into the game as its popularity began to surge. Season 3, Chapter 1 marked a key turning point as the game exploded in popularity, with news articles covering the phenomenon that Fortnite had become. Players began to improve their skills, creating more competition for Ninja. One of his first rivals was TSM Myth, known for building towering structures and camping. Both players were considered the best due to their significant wins, though Ninja was somewhat annoyed with Myth’s strategy, feeling it relied too much on sitting in a tower. Myth gained popularity not just for his gameplay but also due to being part of the esports team Team SoloMid (TSM), which included other notable members like Dakotaz and Daequan.
Season 4 brought significant changes to the Fortnite storyline, introducing the game’s first collaboration with Marvel. At the end of Season 3, Epic Games teased an upcoming live event featuring a meteor that would impact the island. In Season 4, some POIs were indeed affected, including Tilted Towers, Risky Reels, and Dusty Depot, which was transformed into Dusty Divot. This season also introduced The Visitor, a mysterious figure who began placing items around the map, sparking speculation about the story’s direction. The highlight was the first live event held on June 30, 2018, where a rocket launch created a crack in the sky, leaving players curious about its significance until Season 5.
In Season 5, new POIs were added, and the ongoing story captivated the community. The crack in the sky began emitting lightning in a specific area, and one day, a giant cube appeared, surprising players and inspiring countless videos, such as LazerBeam’s “*NEW* GIANT LIGHTNING CUBE in Fortnite Battle Royale.” Initially, the cube appeared dormant, but it soon began to move, leaving destruction in its wake. Occasionally, when it paused at certain spots, it would create a mark on the ground that granted low gravity to players within its radius. This exciting detail encouraged more content creation, with videos titled “The CUBE HAS AWOKEN (Anti-Gravity) in Fortnite Battle Royale” gaining traction. The community affectionately named the cube Kevin, and speculation swirled about its eventual destination and potential impact on locations like Tilted Towers.
This was just the beginning of what would become many theories surrounding the fate of Tilted Towers and the rest of the island.
**Fortnite Chapter 1, Season 6**
This season, Epic Games went all out with its introduction of “Fortnitemares.” The season was Halloween-themed to the core, with Points of Interest (POIs) decorated for the occasion, and the newest battle pass also followed a Halloween theme. But that wasn’t all; Kevin, the Cube, was now floating in the sky over Loot Lake. The symbols I mentioned earlier had turned corrupt, and with this corruption, zombies emerged, referred to as “Cube Monsters.”
Less than a day after Season 6 started, the Cube began moving with the Floating Island toward the nearest corruption zone near Pleasant Park. Within three days, the Cube reached the corruption zone and ripped out a chunk of land, imprinted with the symbol. It lifted this chunk into the air, absorbing energy from the corruption zone beneath it, causing solid cube material to grow through the Floating Island.
Once all the energy was drained from the corruption zone, the Cube dropped the symbol and moved on to the next corruption zone. The Floating Island finished absorbing the energy and returned to Loot Lake, which was now named Leaky Lake. Kevin started dripping purple liquid into the lake, and after a few days, the Cube exploded. This event transported players into a white void, where they witnessed a player touching a butterfly. After this, everyone was teleported back, and they could see the changes in Leaky Lake.
A few days later, players noticed a giant glacier heading toward the island, sparking speculation that it was a sign of the next season, which would likely be Christmas-themed.
**Fortnite Chapter 1, Season 7**
Released on December 6, 2018, this winter-themed season was titled “You Better Watch Out.” It introduced three new Points of Interest: Polar Peak, Frosty Flights, and Happy Hamlet. These locations were added as part of a new snowy biome that appeared in the southwest quadrant of the map, triggered by the iceberg collision at the end of the previous season.
Polar Peak was just a mountain of snow until it began to melt, eventually revealing a large castle. This season also introduced a very powerful weapon called the “Infinity Blade,” which received a mixed reaction from players. Many, including popular streamer Laser Beam, criticized it, saying, “SWORDS…. WHY?” The sword was overpowered and was included during a professional tournament, upsetting many players. It was quickly removed, although there was a limited-time game mode where anyone could wield the sword. This incident highlighted some of Fortnite’s mistakes in adding overpowered weapons to the game.
During this season, players began to improve significantly, and Ninja lost his status as the best player to a newcomer named “Mitr0.” His gameplay demonstrated exceptional skill, creating a noticeable gap in competitive play. As the skill level increased, Fortnite’s competitive scene became more challenging, focusing heavily on building mechanics compared to how it was in Seasons 1 through 4.
After a few weeks, players discovered something hidden beneath Polar Peak: a giant monster frozen in the ice that would eventually become important, although it wouldn’t be seen until Season 9. Additionally, beneath the large castle in Polar Peak, there was a prison where a character known as “The Prisoner” was held captive by the Ice King, the tier 100 skin in the Season 7 Battle Pass. Eventually, The Prisoner broke free and began hiding around the island, which led to the burning of a location called Wailing Woods. Following this event, random earthquakes began to occur until their cause was revealed in Season 8.
With the introduction of Season 8 came a monstrous volcano and Lazy Lagoon as major new Points of Interest on the map, along with smaller additions like Pirate Cannon locations and treasure chests. While there were some cool map changes, the season itself was relatively uneventful aside from new and returning weapons, and the introduction of a new vehicle known as the baller, a glass ball resembling a hamster ball that could attach to objects. The live event at the end of the season surprised players when the volcano erupted, destroying major parts of Tilted Towers, Retail Row, and Polar Peak. This set the stage for the new season. Before the volcano erupted, Loot Lake was under construction, and a vault-like structure was unearthed in the middle of the island. This turned out to be where the Zero Point was held. The Zero Point is the powerful, central nexus of all realities, often referred to as the “heart of reality.” It is the origin point from which all multiverses sprang, and its instability causes ripples and rifts. The Zero Point is a key element of the Fortnite storyline that ties into future collaborations.
Season 9 of Chapter 1 was themed around the future, with the new ‘Neo Tilted’ and ‘Mega Mall’ replacing the locations destroyed by the volcano. This season was notable because Epic Games hosted the very first Fortnite World Cup tournament, featuring the best players from around the world. This was a life-changing opportunity for the winner, with a total prize pool of $30 million, split between the Solo competition, the Duos competition, and weekly tournaments leading up to the finals. Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf won the Solo competition and took home $3 million, while Duo champions David “Aqua” Wang and Emil “Nyhrox” Bergquist Pedersen also shared a $3 million prize. Bugha’s victory established him as the best Fortnite player in the world at that time.
Season 10, also known as Season X, ran from August 1, 2019, to October 13, 2019, with the theme “Out of Time.” The season brought back familiar locations on the map and introduced giant mech suits called Brutes, which were widely disliked due to their overpowering abilities. This led to significant backlash from the community, with many players voicing their frustrations and taking a break from the game, but Epic chose to keep the Brutes in the game. Players often compared them to the Infinity Blade due to their similar impact on gameplay. The season concluded with a live event that changed the game forever: the Black Hole Event. It rendered the game unplayable for an entire weekend, leaving players anxious about the game’s fate. During this time, Fortnite blacked out its Twitter account, adding to the confusion. Ultimately, after the Black Hole event, Epic Games introduced a new map full of changes that the community loved, marking the beginning of Chapter 2.
Chapters 1-5 of Fortnite Chapter 2 were interesting because they drew more players to the game. With the rise of COVID-19, many people, myself included, stayed home and played. However, Season 1 had a rough start, as it lacked weekly updates like previous seasons and became known as the longest season in Fortnite history, lasting over 128 days—from its launch in October 2019 until its delayed end in February 2020. After this long wait, Season 2 emerged, featuring a cool spy theme with new weapons that players enjoyed, along with new Points of Interest. The season also saw the introduction of helicopters—a moment celebrated by content creators like Lannan “Lazarbeam” Eacott. The most exciting part of Season 2 came at its conclusion, when the entire map ended up being flooded, setting the stage for the next season.
