Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
The Fortnite World Cup has been a spectacle of competitive battle royale as Epic Games strives from year to year to outdo themselves and put on what was becoming an annual competition. Unfortunately, coronavirus has been a non-stop factor to shutting down gaming events and esports in 2020 and even Fortnite isn’t exempt from issues regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Epic has officially announced that Fortnite World Cup 2020 is canceled.
Epic Games announced the cancellation of Fortnite World Cup in a thread detailing the roadmap of Competitive Fortnite on Twitter on April 30, 2020. In the thread, Epic Games started by saying that most of the ongoing competition in Fortnite throughout 2020 would be shifted to online events only for the foreseeable future.
“We don't know when a return to large, global, in-person events will be practical, but we're hopeful to be able to put on some form of Fortnite World Cup in 2021,” Epic wrote.
Despite the cancellation of the Fortnite World Cup in 2020, Epic proceeded to speak to the state of the Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) and other official and third-party Fortnite competitive formats.
“FNCS will be returning each season for the rest of 2020,” Epic continued. “Players around the globe will have the opportunity to prove they're the best. We will iterate on formats to improve player experiences. We're ensuring players can hop into competitive matches with cash prizes on a routine basis. We've been iterating on how players earn points, as well as the structure of the tournaments. Two-step Cash Cups will qualify a top group of players into a final lobby. We continue to work with 3rd parties to provide more experiences for players. All events must be held online only until further notice.”
Given that Fortnite World Cup 2019 and the year before were wonderful events. a shame to see that a spectacle as grand as the Fortnite World Cup is falling by the wayside in 2020, but not unexpected given the effects the COVID-19 coronavirus has had on the gaming industry.
Even so, it’s good to see that despite the Fortnite World Cup 2020 being canceled, Epic is shifting their attention to try to keep the fun going as best they can. It can be argued that given the circumstances, they’re still going all out with things like the Fortnite Champion Series and the Travis Scott Astronomical in-game concert.