Finally, someone agrees: Fortnite is not an esports title

Fortnite made gaming mainstream. Who can forget that horrendously cringe-worthy moment when Tyler “Ninja” Blevins flossed during the Thanksgiving Macy’s Day Parade, making us look stupid as hell to non-gamers everywhere? I’ll never forget. And I’ll never let any of you forget.

While Ninja has had his, uh, moments (the bra-less wife incident still makes me want to die), there’s no denying that the dude basically made Fortnite popular beyond the world of hardcore gamers and Twitch (back when Twitch wasn’t just IRL lameness and VTubers using baby voices to appeal to creepy coomers… Yeah, Twitch used to be about gaming).

With this newfound fame, Fortnite really pushed growth in all directions. And one of those directions was esports. The inaugural Fortnite World Cup in 2019 saw winner Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf become somewhat of an icon and an instant millionaire. From there, Fortnite continued to offer big prizes and big tournament production budgets, but something just wasn’t clicking.

Tournaments were full of cheaters, a lack of competitive integrity, and a dwindling viewership. Why? I’m sure the immense luck in Fortnite has something to do with it. Is it really all that fun to watch someone land somewhere that ends up being great, open a loot box that ends up having something great, and then head in a direction that ends up being where the storm wants players to go? You might as well just watch people play slots on Kick.

Fortnite Doesn’t Have That Esports Formula

Counter-Strike has remained a popular esports title for decades, showcasing raw mechanical skills and incredible team-based strategies that normal players can’t achieve. You know you’re watching something special, and the hype behind the insane plays is real and cannot be recreated in your own basement.

Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments feature players that go beyond what everyday players can ever imagine doing, a blend of insane reaction times, incredible game knowledge, and seemingly impossible reading. These are players who achieve god status due to raw skill and passion alone.

Fortnite has an overwhelming amount of RNG that takes away from that classic “I’m watching the best to ever do it” feeling. Developers have admitted in the past that they have created certain weapons and vehicles specifically to give new players a chance against those that have grinded their hearts out (remember the B.R.U.T.E. suit that basically gave players an auto win?). They argued that newbies should feel that satisfaction of getting a kill. Basically admitting that they want to ensure players come back more than give the game any sort of competitive integrity.

You couldn’t pay me to watch a bunch of teenagers run around a map, randomly locate strong weapons, find out they are in a safe area by chance, build a giant ramp to give them the best positioning, and then gun down players that didn’t have the luxury of landing in the right area with the right weapons.

While the Esports World Cup is a possible stain on the esports ecosystem, they did say something smart over the weekend. When speaking to a Saudi Arabian television station, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, Ralf Reichert, stated: “Fortnite is not really purposefully built for competition at this point. It doesn’t have some of the competitive tools. It doesn’t have a huge competitive ecosystem.”

That doesn’t mean Fortnite doesn’t have fans. Earlier this year, the FNCS Pro-Am tournament recorded over 600,000 peak viewers. But I never denied that Fortnite wasn’t popular. Fortnite has a huge streaming community full of prominent content creators and a bunch of little kids who still play it despite all the headache-inducing crossover skins and events. These little kids watch loud, obnoxious streamers scream as they run around in Chun Li skins. And they watch the tournaments as well. It’s a no-brainer that people who play Fortnite may also watch other people play it on a fun stream with millions on the line.

But does that mean Fortnite is a proper esports title? No. It just means it’s a popular game.

You can call me a Fortnite hater all you want (and I mean it, please call me one, I really don’t mind), but I will always stand by the statement that Fortnite lacks the competitive integrity to be a true esports title. It’s just a game that’s popular on Twitch. And that’s okay.