If Fortnite Battle Royale had been stuck behind Save the World's paywall, would it have taken off? Would Epic's runaway hit have spawned a mobile variation, or would the game's best streamers generate $500,000 per month? Probably not, but here we are.
Had it not been free-to-play, BR might not have justified the steady stream of features, mechanics, weapons and modes it's received since September—the latest of which is the Heavy Shotgun. Epic says it's due today (8am ET/12 noon GMT) and won't require updates or downtime.
The Heavy Shotgun releases tomorrow, March 22 at 8am ET (12:00 GMT).There will be no downtime and no update required. pic.twitter.com/INh3zByKDoMarch 22, 2018
As reported by Andy yesterday, Fortnite is also in-line for a new replay system which promises camera customisation options—such as aperture, focal length, exposure, and manual focus. Naturally, this should open doors for content creators, and those with a penchant for performance.
Sonny Evans, esteemed GTA 5 creator and the chap responsible for PUBG's National Geographic-aping documentaries, is excited.
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"I can see [the replay system] being used by big crowds to cinematically showcase their best shots and plays," Evans tells me. "Making Fortnite videos has been super hard—if I wanted to get a cinematic pan shot I had to jam my character against a wall, which would glitch my camera into the character. The camera is then in a wacky first person mode, and I had to move my character left or right to get the pan. All while 99 people want your head on a spike.
"The most exciting thing about the replay mode is that I am now able to create creative content, in the hottest game of 2018."
