Fortnite's Evolution: A Step Closer to Fortnite 2

If you ask someone who doesn't play Fortnite what they know about the game, they'll probably mention the funny emotes and the dancing banana character. They may also refer to it as a shooting game or a battle royale game. While battle royale has been a central part of Fortnite for six years, the game has also evolved and expanded as a platform. In fact, 70% of Fortnite players now regularly play in Creative mode, which offers user-generated content and a wide range of experiences. This week's massive update, featuring three new games, beloved intellectual property, and established studios, seems to be a statement that Fortnite is changing. However, its position as a dominant force in the video game world appears to be secure.

Rocket Racing

At a press event ahead of their staggered launch dates this week, I had the opportunity to play Lego Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival, all of which are new games exclusively found within Fortnite. After experiencing them firsthand, I've come to see them as more than just "modes"—each one could easily stand alone as its own game. This is a different scenario from when a game on a platform like Roblox becomes popular and is then acquired by an outside studio. In this case, talented studios have been brought in to create new games with the specific goal of expanding Fortnite's ecosystem.

When I tried Rocket Racing, I entered a universe that combines elements of both Fortnite and Rocket League. The logo shares a font with the latter, but as I navigated through the tracks, I encountered plenty of Fortnite imagery, including the recognizable llamas carved into the terrain. Rocket Racing offers classic arcade racing action with elements like speed boosters, ramps, hidden pathways, and a surprisingly high skill ceiling.

The game introduces a unique boost system that utilizes a secondary charge which activates a moment after the initial activation. This brings an added layer of strategy to the game as players must carefully time when to use it. Additionally, the more complex maps with fewer straightaways require players to consider whether or not to utilize their boost, as it could potentially result in a collision with a guardrail.

Rocket Racing strikes a balance between Fortnite, Rocket League, and classic kart racers. Just like in Rocket League, cars have the ability to jump, with the length of the jump determined by how long the jump button is held. However, extended airtime could lead to a decrease in speed, allowing opponents to gain an advantage. To counter this, players can quickly maneuver back onto the ground to maintain their speed and position in the race.

Lego Fortnite

It quickly became evident that there would be an optimal way to race each track. While serious players strive to shave off milliseconds in the game's ranked mode, it also serves as a family-friendly racing game due to its mechanics, similar to Rocket League, which are challenging to master but have a welcoming low entry barrier. As this is a collaboration between Epic and Psyonix, unlocking cars in Fortnite will also grant them in Rocket League, and vice versa. Additionally, for players who may conquer the numerous tracks on day one, Rocket Racing will integrate with Creative, allowing for user-created racetracks in the future.

Later in the day, I played Lego Fortnite, which I believe will likely become the most popular game of the three. Lego Fortnite is a survival-crafting game similar to Minecraft and the many games it has inspired over the past decade. Like Rocket Racing, Lego Fortnite benefits from being rooted in both the Fortnite and Lego universes. The game is visually stunning thanks to Unreal Engine 5, and the procedurally generated worlds are 20 times larger than the Fortnite battle royale island--with the potential to continue growing in size over time.

But the addition of Lego charm makes it a captivating time sink. A tutorialized introduction featuring a minifig version of Cuddle Team Leader guiding players through the initial stages of a survival-crafting game, such as building a bed, an axe, a small shelter, and more, enhances the accessibility for younger players. However, the presence of the pink bear friend is easily ignorable, allowing players to learn through exploration and experimentation if they prefer. To the delight of Lego purists, some builds also require multiple steps, akin to constructing a real Lego set on a table. For instance, to create my humble shack, I had to construct each wall, then a floor, and finally a roof, following in-game instructions. Although these are completed as large sections rather than brick-by-brick, freeform brick pieces later become available in my crafting book.

Lego Fortnite seems poised to become the standout among the three new games. New builds, recipes, and items are unlocked frequently and early on, yet it never feels overwhelming due to a clear understanding of what needs to be collected or built to progress. This is a common pitfall that many similar games stumble into, but Lego Fortnite manages to avoid it—perhaps intentionally to maintain a sense of mystery, which can be daunting for newcomers to the genre. I envisioned my children navigating Lego Fortnite's systems—my Minecraft-savvy son will find it easy to grasp, and while my daughter may need some assistance due to her young age, the clear UI indicators for missing recipe components will likely prompt her to seek them out after initial guidance from me or my wife, thanks to her experience with games. Furthermore, for those who want to focus on building and exploring without worrying about survival elements, a more forgiving sandbox mode eliminates resource scarcity and enemy threats.

Lego Fortnite can now be played in groups of up to eight people, following a recent update to the game's ratings and parental controls. These changes are designed to give parents more control over their children's gaming experiences, allowing them to determine what their kids can play and who they can play with. I spoke with Epic executive vice president Saxs Persson about these new features, particularly in light of concerns surrounding mature content in competing games like Roblox. Persson assured me that the partnership with The Lego Group has been instrumental in shaping these new systems, emphasizing the shared commitment to transparency and parental expectations. The focus has been on creating a safe and enjoyable gaming experience, including features like voice chat that meet players' expectations while also being manageable for parents. Persson stressed the importance of building trust with parents and acknowledged that developing these controls has been a meticulous process over the past two years.

Similar to Rocket Racing, players are fully immersed in the world of Fortnite when they play Lego Fortnite. With over 1,200 Fortnite skins now available in Lego form, the team has dedicated themselves to individually crafting each one, with more to come in the future. Plans are also in place to transform some of Fortnite's licensed characters into Lego minifigs, promising some exciting surprises. Persson expressed confidence in the project, stating, "I'd be surprised if the majority of IPs don't make it in at some point."

Fortnite Festival

Currently, I am dedicating a significant amount of time to three different games, but at the moment Fortnite Festival stands out as my favorite. It can be described as a modern version of Rock Band, with added elements that are unique to Fortnite. Fortnite Festival is designed for groups of up to four players, with each player choosing to play lead guitar, bass, drums, or vocals (without actual singing involved). The band starts backstage and collaborates on creating a playlist before taking the stage to perform a selection of licensed tracks, with more added regularly.

The full songs are reminiscent of the gameplay experience from Guitar Hero and Rock Band, except without the vocal component. Developed by Harmonix, the game offers well-balanced difficulty levels to accommodate players of all skill levels. Despite not excelling at Rock Band or similar games in the past, I always enjoyed the experience due to my love for gamified music. Playing a game so similar to those titles was an immediate delight.

Fortnite Festival introduces the return of Rock Band, along with a hint of Fuser. The game's initial tracklist features a diverse selection of popular songs from artists like Queens of the Stone Age, Billie Eilish, and Weezer. Each season will also highlight an Icon, starting with The Weeknd, who will be available as a purchasable in-game skin with various style options. This means that players can enjoy several of his songs right from the launch, with more Icons receiving similar song and skin treatment in the future.

The distinctive Fortnite twist to the experience is found in a separate mode of Fortnite Festival. In this mode, players can create jam sessions in a space similar to Fortnite's Party Royale. Players can choose up to eight jam tracks from their emote wheel and play different sections of a song as they wish. Up to three other players can join in the track by entering the inner circle shown on screen, while others can spectate by entering the outer circle, allowing them to listen to the performance.

Similar to Harmonix's Fuser and DropMix, Fortnite now offers a multiplayer musical mash-up experience that serves as a social hangout space within the game. Players can jam on different instruments to create unique mixes while chatting about various topics. This feature, while not the main focus of the game, has also been integrated into the battle royale mode, leading to memorable moments during the Victory Royale screen.

The simultaneous launches of these new games within Fortnite were not originally planned, but the idea started to take shape earlier this year and eventually came together. According to Persson, the vision for this three-pronged launch began to form in March, and it was not something that anyone would have anticipated a year ago. The concept of a Big Bang to reset the ecosystem was initially discussed during GDC, and by the fall, it became clear that two out of three games would hit their launch window.

He continued, "The notion that all of them were launched together - you really can't expect all that development to align perfectly like that, it's just not how game development works." However, by the fall, all three games were ready for the new chapter launch - which Epic has turned into a major annual event every December for the past three years. When this happened, Persson noted that the feeling within Epic was, "Well, we're fully invested now."

Lego Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival are now all available for free within Fortnite. Playing any of these games will reward players with battle pass XP and other game-specific rewards. Each game will also have its own season schedule and isn't necessarily tied to the Fortnite battle royale season structure.

Editor's P/S

As a passionate Fortnite fan, I am thrilled about the recent developments and the introduction of new games within the Fortnite platform. The addition of Rocket Racing, Lego Fortnite, and Fortnite Festival showcases Epic's commitment to innovation and expanding the Fortnite experience beyond just the battle royale mode. These new games offer unique and exciting gameplay experiences that cater to different interests and preferences, making Fortnite more than just a single game.

The collaboration with established studios like Psyonix and Lego demonstrates Epic's dedication to bringing high-quality content to its players. Rocket Racing combines the best elements of Fortnite and Rocket League, creating a thrilling and competitive racing experience. Lego Fortnite, on the other hand, taps into the immense popularity of Minecraft-style survival-crafting games, offering a visually stunning and expansive world to explore and build in. These new games not only add variety to the Fortnite experience but also attract new players who may not have been interested in the battle royale aspect.