New Fortnite Season

Fortnite released a transformative update on November 3, 2023, that lured players back to the game by reintroducing a gameplay experience they had almost forgotten. 

Veterans of the hit game ‘Fortnite’ grabbed their controllers and reinstalled the game, surprised by the new update, which featured the original map and weapons from as far back as 2018.

The impact of this update was astonishing, with millions of players flooding back into the game, increasing players on the day Fortnite launched this original (OG) update. Average hours played each week were rising as well, specifically from students across the globe. The return of the original players, driven by the attraction of the nostalgic update, contributed significantly to this time spent actively on the game.

“I probably played around 20 hours each weekend,” stated sophomore Ryan Carpenter.

Running from November 3, 2023, to December 2, 2023, the update transported players back to the early days of Fortnite, featuring the map from 2018 with iconic locations like Anarchy Acres as well as Haunted Hills. The update also re-released weapons and gadgets that had been previously banned, including the original Tactical Shotgun and the Clinger Grenades. This attracted players who had been part of the Fortnite community since 2018 with the idea of nostalgia while also captivating younger audiences who had never experienced the thrill of the old map and weapons.

“ [2018 players] felt very excited and happy for the new season to come out,” said sophomore Zak Shlomi.

Despite the initial excitement, returning players soon discovered that the updated Fortnite landscape was not a replication of the past. New dynamics and mechanics, such as a new sprinting mechanic being introduced and new jumping mechanics changed the gaming experience for the worse. Newer generations of players also took casual games seriously, ruining lobbies for players looking for fun gameplay rather than winning. Such players are nicknamed ‘sweats’. Some returning players, disappointed by the update from the original gameplay, considered the update a major letdown.

“I tried to play [Fortnite], it was fun but the sweats would be there,” stated senior Jacob Nannen.

Each throwback season lasted around a week, which only let the returning veterans of Fortnite return to their favorite era of the game for a week, where it would then be lost forever. This also contributed to the returning players feeling like the update wasn’t sufficient to the standards it was supposed to meet.

“A lot of my favorite seasons only lasted for around a week and I felt like I couldn’t really enjoy them,” Nannen further explained.

 The presence of more professional players in casual lobbies left returning players frustrated as they found themselves at a disadvantage due to their inactivity ranging from months to years. Fortnite era’s changing rapidly also left players with a bad outlook when reviewing the update overall since it has ended. This led to mixed feelings about the Fortnite: Season OG update, but overall the game attracted old and new audiences alike during the season.