We imagine Fortnite developer Epic Games had a pinky raised against its lips when it announced that its going to pump $100 million into a series of Fortnite eSports prize pools this year.If youre wondering why you havent seen many official Fortnite competitions around, however, thats because theyre not really slated to start until sometime later this year.
Its not entirely clear at the moment what the competitions will look like but Epic has said its planning to take a different approach to competitive play and be more inclusive, and focused on the joy of playing and watching the game".There will be more details on the structure of Fortnite eSports in the coming weeks but we think its safe to say theres going to be some interest in what is now one of the most financially attractive eSports in the world.Fortnite fortuneIts a large sum of money for any competition, never mind on in its inaugural year.
And, as is Fortnites stratospheric habit, this puts the battle royale game in the upper echelons of the eSports world as far as prize money is concerned.But if recent reports are anything to go by, money probably isnt an issue for Epic at the moment.
Though Fortnite is free-to-play, it still has in-game purchases available for cosmetic items.
Sensor Tower has estimated that the developer is bringing in $1 million a day through its mobile platform alone and brought in around $126 million on console and PC in FebruaryEpic will no doubt get its eSports venture off to an auspicious start with its celebrities and streamers tournament taking place at E3 in June.