The Black Hole Event in
Fortnite took place on October 13, 2019, at 2 pm Eastern Time. This is, arguably,
one of the most iconic, most shocking events to take place in online gaming
history, in part due to the fact that Fortnite: Black Royale is the most
popular multiplayer online game in the world. Though it was scheduled, the
events leading up to and following the Black Hole left players stunned and
waiting for answers.
What is Fornite?
Fortnite is a multiplayer,
online, third-person shooting game. The game itself has undergone 10 seasons—each
featuring new challenges, new worlds, and new characters. The game is so
popular that Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite, have put out three different
versions of the game.
Fortnite: Save the World is
the traditional version of the game, which takes place during a zombie
apocalypse. Should you prefer to create your own maps, Fortnite:, Creator is
likely your favored version. However, the most popular version of the game is Fortnite:
Battle Royale. Battle Royal is so popular due to its exciting gameplay. In this
version, one hundred players play together to fight until death. Only one
player remains standing at the end. This is where the famed Black Hole Event
took place.
What Is the Black Hole Event?
Throughout the game, there
have been several times that Epic Games has scheduled interruptions to the
game. This usually happens at the end of a season in order to give the creators
the change to work out bugs in the system. The interruptions often lead to big
changes in the game. For example, a meteor shower in season 4 was responsible
for changing the entire island layout. To launch 2019, the game was replaced
with the drop of a disco ball.
Since fans of the game had
previously experienced interruptions with limited disruption to the game, most
thought nothing of the one scheduled for October 13, 2019.
At 2pm, players in the game
suddenly had no control over their avatars. A rocket launched into the
atmosphere where it exploded. Multiple rifts formed from which many missiles
flew. The missile all came together. Where they met, a black hole formed.
Players were then thrust into the sky and watched as their entire world was
sucked into the hole, themselves included. Suddenly, the whole screen went
black, and players were left staring at a ring in the center of their black
screen.
Everyone who plays the game
was able to watch in some way or another. Players who were in the lobby waiting
in the queue watched as the menu interface was sucked into the black hole. If
players weren’t playing the game, they watched on YouTube and twitch.
Players assumed they would
be able to play again quickly or at least receive an announcement from Epic
Games. Instead, Epic Games remained silent and even removed themselves from
Twitter while the black hole was live-streamed for two days.
Finally, Epic Games broke
their silence and dropped Fortnite: Chapter 2.
Final Remarks
The Black Hole Event and the
anticipation it built were unprecedented in the online world. Obviously, Epic
Games truly knows how to make a game epic.
