Epic must be more than pleased with the performance of Fortnite, specifically the free to play Battle Royale. According to their latest numbers, more than seven million players have dropped onto the island to kill each other.
This is a huge number considering how long Battle Royale has been available which has been helped by its release on the Playboxes. PUBG must be a little frustrated to see these kinds of numbers considering their recent displeasure at Epics version of the genre.
The player numbers news also comes with an update from Epic announcing that Duos have been added to the game as well as the return of supply drops.
“Supply Drops are back! We tried once, but couldn’t quite stick the landing. We fixed those issues and we’re excited for them to return”, said Epic. “Supply Drops are more likely to contain rare weapons and items that you want in a pinch. They’re also a hot zone for attention, so planning how to grab one is important. Watch the skies for those supplies.”
Epic has also posted a lengthy explanation on how they are approaching Fortnite weapon accuracy as they continue to try and nail it. It’s a complex process depending on weapon and what the player is actually doing so this may take some time to get right. The situation is currently as follows:
- Some weapons don’t quite live up to their expectations. The biggest culprits are the Assault Rifles and the SMGs which were recently adjusted. We’ll continue to evaluate and there may be more incremental improvements, not a radical adjustments.
- It can be unclear what improves accuracy. Standing still, crouching, and aiming (instead of hip-firing) all have some form of impact on accuracy. We’ll look into ways to improve usability on the reticle, including improved readability of your accuracy cone.
- We’ll be running prototypes using more recoil and reducing accuracy penalties. The idea behind this is that the first shot will have higher accuracy (but again, not perfect) and then subsequent shots will require slightly more skill. These will be incremental adjustments until we find the sweet spot.
- Lastly, enabling projectiles for all weapons (not just the Sniper Rifle) is something we’d like to explore. Doing this would allow for tighter accuracy overall. We’ve run prototypes internally and it shows promise, but there are challenges preventing us from turning it on. Once those are sorted out, we’ll consider running a broader test.
It’s hard to see players numbers slowing down unless Epic do something pretty drastic with the gameplay. They appear to be listening to the feedback which is a positive sign and so fart the future looks bright for Fortnite‘s battle royale.
Thanks to over 7 million of you who have played Fortnite! We want to keep the Battle Bus flying, so Duos and Supply Drops are available NOW. pic.twitter.com/sRx767u4aG
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) October 4, 2017
