Even Ninja Thinks Fortnite Is Going The Way Of H1Z1

TheGamer

By Chris Littlechild

Published Apr 11, 2019

Fortnite streamer Ninja recently stated that the popular battle royale might be following in the footsteps of H1Z1 after its v8.20 update.

Popular streamer Ninja has stated that Fortnite might be following the path of H1Z1.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall, they say. So, you’d better watch out, Fortnite, because you’re looking at a heck of steep drop there.

Now, as we know, Fortnite is a force to be reckoned with. It’s made a fantastic amount of money, it invaded almost half of all Nintendo Switches in the world when it launched on the system, and thus its world domination efforts seemed to be unstoppable. Battle royale games are absolutely everywhere right now, and for some time, Fortnite was the unquestioned last word in the genre.

You can’t ever afford to get cocky in this industry, however. The mighty Apex Legends has been doing outrageously well since its own launch, despite its issues with hackers, crashes and cheaters, and hit the ground running even more successfully than Fortnite did. Epic’s smash hit isn’t used to fighting for its number one spot, but it’s certainly been having to do so lately.

Nobody is untouchable around here, just ask Ninja, the world’s most famous Fortnite player, whose concerns about the game have been growing recently. The version 8.20 update has proven incredibly controversial, with its removal of the 40% bonus to harvesting and other changes, and many players are not happy. At the end of March, Ninja and some fellow pro players blew off the game entirely, streaming UNO for the night instead.

Does that sound like a good sign? No? That’s because it isn’t. You cannot discount how important it is to have these high-profile influencers on your side. Heck, Ninja himself was paid $1 million by EA simply to play Apex Legends and hype it up on social media. When these players start expressing major concerns, you’ve got to act.

The makers of H1Z1 know this all too well, as they released a series of controversial updates and made other mistakes that ultimately doomed the game. Big streamers leaving had a massive impact on this. Ninja was one of them, and he thinks he sees a familiar situation on the horizon here.

"I'm telling you, man, they gotta be careful," he said. "They're taking on too much at this point and [there are] still so many glitches in the game that have needed to be fixed. Gotta be careful, dude, they're going down the path of the H1Z1."

While a phenomenal success story like Fortnite isn’t about to instantly disappear, it can certainly start to crumble away. You’ve heard the complaints, Epic, now the ball is in your court. If you truly love your cash cow, you’ve got to adapt and fix it before it's too late.