Have you ever watched a Fortnite stream and thought "I'm just as good as that guy. Why am I not famous?" Well, Epic Games is about to give you the chance to prove you deserve an energy drink sponsorship and thousands of loyal fans who will send you creepy private messages. In-game tournaments are coming to Fortnite, and you can start throwing down today.
Fortnite's in-game tournaments will be a part of the game's v6.10 patch, Polygon reports. They'll be open to everyone, regardless of skill level or preferred platform. You read that right. You could very well be an Xbox gamer pit against mouse-and-keyboard warriors and an NHL player sneaking in a game on his iPhone.
Well, it's not like you can just accidentally find your way in a tournament queue. The tournaments will have their own separate matchmaking, of course. The way it works is that you gain points based on your performance in each tournament match you play over the course of a few days. Both eliminations and survival count towards your point total. The matchmaking system will do its best to group players by how many points they have, hopefully reducing the chances of continually getting roasted by PC players.
And the prize for your hard work? A pin on your profile. However, the Polygon article does note that pins might mean something in the future. It seems that these first few in-game tournaments are just helping Epic lay down the foundation for the system. Next year will be different, as these competitions will actually give participants a chance to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.
Since it's a test, the first event is appropriately called the Alpha Tournament. It begins today and run until the 21st. It's a Solo queue tournament, with Duo and Squad games to be added in the future.
Here's the schedule:
Alpha Tournament (Solo)
Oct. 16 to Oct. 21
Beta Tournament (Duo)
Oct 23 to Oct. 25
Friday Night Fortnite (Squad)
Oct. 19 to Nov. 30
Salty Springs Cup (Solo)
Oct. 27 to Oct. 31
Tomato Temple Cup (Duo)
Oct.28 to Nov. 1
It will be interesting to see if any new champions do rise from these events, or if the same Twitch stars continue to dominate. Nothing is certain in a constantly changing game like Fortnite. Who knows? You could be the next big name in gaming.