Epic Games States Fortnite Battle Royale was Developed in Two Months
By Nicholas Barth ·
With an already solid base to build from, Epic Games was able to transform Fortnite from a zombie survival game into one of the top battle royale titles on the market.
Fortnite has seen enormous growth ever since Epic Games introduced a battle royale mode to the title. Seeing the success of the genre, the studio was able to hit gold by incorporating the unique building mechanic of Fortnite into the battle royale game mode in addition to the game's fast paced and entertaining weapon gameplay. However, Fortnite Battle Royale was not a multi-year project. In a recent QA on the Playstation Blog, Epic Games' Eric Williamson, the design lead on Fortnite, revealed that the first playable version of battle royale title was developed in a two-month span from July 2017 to September 2017.
"In the past, the Fortnite team had been experimenting with a number of PvP modes, but ultimately decided to move its focus to the PvE experience. There was always the intention to go back to that. Last year, the idea of a battle royale-style game came up. We just thought it would be cool to combine the last-man standing gameplay with the action-building mechanics that make Fortnite unique. In July of last year, we started to work on a prototype, and then released our first version of the game in September. So, roughly two months. There was such a good, solid foundation there for us, so that certainly helped us get to a playable version so quickly."
With the title still in early access and the studio already having a core to build upon in their Save the World player versus environment version of the game, it is not shocking to see that Epic Games was able to roll out their battle royale title in a two-month timespan. However, the studio is continuing to add weekly updates to the game with gameplay changes and the addition of new weapons, equipment and cosmetic items since its launch in September 2017.
Taking advantage of the flexibility that the early access state gives developers and the already established base of their Save the World game mode, Epic Games was able to create a working version of Fortnite Battle Royale in record time while still having the ability to profit from the title, as they continue to work on its development.
(cover photo courtesy of Epic Games)