Fortnite OG breaks player records for the return of Chapter 1

The battle royale phenomenon is now six years old. Fortnite just broke its all-time one-day player record — by going back in time. The launch of Fortnite OG, a special season which brings back the game’s original Chapter 1 map, drew an incredible 44.7 million players on Saturday, Nov. 4, who between them racked up 102 million hours of play. That’s according to a post on XThe official Fortnite Twitter account (formerly Twitter).

According to live stats tracker Fortnite.gg, the peak number of concurrent players on Saturday was 6.2 million — the highest number by far since developer Epic Games made the live player count available earlier this year. It is lower than what was previously reported. 12.3 million concurrent players Epic claimed for the “Astronomical” event with Travis Scott during the COVID lockdowns of April 2020.

It is amazing to think that the feat was accomplished in a single day. Fortnite remains unavailable on iOS devices, and only as a sideload via the Epic Games app on Android, due to Epic’s ongoing legal battle with mobile platform holders over their store fees.

What’s brought all these players back? What brought all these players back? Fortnite OGThe rest of the chapter is the same as in July 2018. Rest of OGThe rest of the Chapter 1 will be rushed through at a rate of two or one season per week. Season 6 is returning on the 9th of November, followed by season 7 and 8. Then seasons 8 and 9 will be released on the 16th and 23rd. There are also curated selections of “classic, mashup, and fresh” items available via the OG Pass and OG Shop.

Players are already clamoring to play OGIt is a mode that will remain in place for a long time. FortniteEpic might reconsider running such a short season. Blizzard, despite being in a completely different industry, has been successful with their own business model. World of Warcraft ClassicThe modern game is played in parallel to it, but the gameplay itself has not changed. Classic’s audience has split into two separate cohorts: those who stick to the original, classic era, and those who like to move through past expansions, just a little faster than the first time.

FortniteThe newest member of the WoWIn proving to the world that online gaming is a ephemeral medium, in which nothing stays the same for long, nostalgia can bring in big money. Even when the nostalgia they’re drawing on is for only five years ago.