Never ceasing to amaze, developer Epic Games has shocked the Fortnite community with another major announcement.
On May 21, it was announced that Epic will be pledging a whopping $100 million to fund prize pools for Fortnite esports competitions.
Despite the game not having a formal esports scene, this is yet another glaring sign of the inevitability of Fortnite esports and how massive it truly will be.
Some of the big-name organizations, including FaZe Clan, Team SoloMid, Red Reserve, and others, have already signed some of the best Fortnite talent of the world.
However, most would agree that Fortnite, in its current state, is not entirely ready to be a full-fledged esports game.
There are certainly things that need to be adjusted and implemented for it to become viable enough for competitive play on the grand stage.
That being said, here are five things that Fortnite needs for it to become ready for esports.
Private/Custom Matches
This is almost a no-brainer and fully obvious inclusion for Fortnite esports.
Not only would private and custom matchmaking be needed for competitive tournaments and events, they would also be needed for pro teams to start scrimming with and against each other for practice.
Viable Scoring System
Scoring would be one of the biggest and most important aspects of competitive Fortnite and would thus need to be addressed.
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A viable scoring system would include appropriate weighting for certain facets of the game such as kills, wins, damage dealt, total time alive, and more.
Competitive Rule-Set
Currently, the competitive scene of Fortnite is limited to online tournaments with makeshift rules that vary depending on the host website.
Before there is even an esports scene for the game, there needs to be a finalized competitive ruleset set in stone that is consistent across all Epic Games sanctioned events.
This would limit potential confusion and misunderstanding, and allow players and teams to set strategies and amend their playstyles in order to fully fit the official rules.
Reduce the Randomness (RNG)
Fortnite currently uses a Random Number Generator (RNG) system to determine the results of things in-game, including bullet registration and looting.
Reducing the randomness in the game would definitely contribute to making it more consistent for esports.
This could involve having a rotation of predetermined safety circles and loot chests, a recoil system instead of “weapons bloom,” and more.
Professional Fortnite League
Having a professional league for Fortnite would create a stable foundation for its esports scene.
This could either mean a franchise based league that Overwatch and League of Legends use, or the promotion/relegation system of Call of Duty.
In addition, third party organizers, like the CWL, can also play a big role in assisting Epic Games with organizing competitive events for Fortnite.