Fortnite’s popularity is well known, but a surge in nostalgia has seen the game reach new attendance records. Almost 45 million players played the title this Saturday, November 4th.
Nostalgia works really well for Fortnite players. The world’s most popular free-to-play game has brought the first version of its game map back online for an “OG Season.” This term (Old Gamer) refers to players who were already present in the game at the time of its release in 2017.
Publisher Epic Games’ strategy seems to be working, as the release of this original map on Friday, November 3rd attracted a record audience. The next day, Saturday, November 4th, nearly 45 million players flocked to the battle royale’s original island.
102 million hours played
“Yesterday (Saturday, November 4, Editor’s Note) was the biggest day in Fortnite history with more than 44.7 million players in the game and 102 million hours played,” Fortnite said on Twitter (renamed X).
Another record that the new gaming season has broken is the number of simultaneous players. On Saturday, November 4, specialized website Fortnite.gg recorded a peak of 6,172,463 people simultaneously connected to the Epic Games title, according to PC Gamer.
The “OG Season” picks up on the codes that made Fortnite a cult game. While the game was losing momentum, the game developed its battle royale mode in 2018. It was this concept, little used at the time, that gave the game the success it later enjoyed. With this step back in time, current players can experience the locations and weapons that Fortnite offered five years ago.