“Fortnite Battle Royale” – one of the most popular and influential video games of all time – has been revamped with a return to a nostalgic map for all to play.
Fortnite did something that has changed the gaming world forever by teasing the return of an old Fornite season. Fortnite fanatics went crazy with aniticipation but didn’t know for sure if it was a joke.
But Fornite confirmed that fans’ dreams had indeed come true on Nov. 3 when game creator Epic Games added the OG map from Season 1.
Fortnite set records on play that day. People who hadn’t played in years logged on to play Fortnite original map once again. Cal junior Nico Velazquez, who used to play Fortnite, was thrilled to have the OG map back.
”I absolutely love it [the map], and I’m having a great time with my friends,” Velazquez said.
But some people say it still doesn’t feel the same.
“It was a good experience, but it didn’t hit the exact same level when we were kids,” junior Nathan Brega said.
Nevertheless, the return of the OG map has attracted old users and restored the popularity of Fortnite.
Fortnite was first released on Sept 26, 2017, on all platforms, so anyone who had a device could download it for free. A month before its release there were already 1 million players registered for the game.
After 2017, there were more than 30 million registered players of the game and it rapidly grew in popularity.
Fortnite was at its peak in the gaming world. Every gamer was playing it.
But after 10 seasons, Epic Games made a big decision to completely change the map and weapons in what was called Chapter 2, Season 1. A lot of Fortnite gamers didn’t like this change. Despite the backlash, Fortnite still had millions of loyal players.
Creators did the same thing again but after eight seasons of Chapter 2, they started from scratch again. All these changes caused everyone to stop playing Fortnite. Sales dropped and the popularity peak ended.
Everyone was just sad that they couldn’t enjoy the game like they used to.
Fortnite changed the gaming world so much but the decsion to bring back the OG map was arguably one of the best decisions creators made. Old gamers who abandoned Fortnite because of overdone updates returned to play the game they once loved.
“I play it all the time,” junior Aidan O’Sullivan said. “It brings back memories.”
Unfortunately, on Dec 2 the OG map was removed. But gamers still hope for a possible return in the future as the trailer for Fortnite 2024 teased the possibility of another return. There is hope that creators learned from this and do it again.
OG ‘Fortnite’ is finally back
Landon Olberg, Staff Writer
December 15, 2023
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About the Contributor
Landon Olberg, Staff Writer
Landon Olberg is a Junior here at Cal High and this is his second year with the Californian. He plays Baseball for the school and outside of school. He loves watching his favorite sports teams the Oakland Athletics and the Green Bay Packers play. Loves writing about sports and is excited for his second year of newspaper.