With the COVID-19 vaccination timeline still not completely clear, many companies are already making decisions regarding in-person events throughout 2021. Last week, Warner Bros. announced that their entire 2021 slate of 17 movies would debut both in theaters and via streaming platform HBO Max. Now, Epic Games, publisher of popular battle royale title Fortnite, has made a similar announcement regarding their 2021 plans.
According to a post made via the official Epic blog, no in-person Fortnite tournaments or other events will be held in 2021. However, Epic will continue to host online competitions, which fans will be able to view via livestreams. These online competitions will include the ongoing Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS). The Chapter 2 Season 5 Championship Series is currently planned for February 4, 2021. Epic will be standardizing team size to Trios for the next year’s upcoming FNCS tournaments.
Epic explained in the post that, while they do hope to eventually return to holding in-person events, their “priority for such event is the health and safety of [their] players and staff.” They did not state when they planned to begin hosting in-person events again, or whether or not vaccination will alter these 2021 plans.
Fortnite recently saw the conclusion of Chapter 2 Season 4, in which players banded together to battle the Marvel villain Galactus. The current Chapter 2 Season 5 has been announced to have a “Bounty Hunter” theme, with a bounty system added to allow players to collect rewards by tracking and defeating specific NPCs. Skins will be added based on popular hunter characters, including Kratos from God of War, and the title character from the Disney+ TV series The Mandalorian.
In addition, Epic has recently launched a monthly subscription service called “Fortnite Crew,” which earns subscribers access to seasonal Battle Passes as well as exclusive outfits and gear.
What do you think about Epic’s decision? Are you looking forward to watching online Fortnite tournaments in 2021? Let us know!
