Fortnite has become one of the biggest franchises ever to exist in gaming as a whole, but when was Fortnite made in the first place? It hasn’t always been an established force, although now at nearly eight years old and still racking up record player counts, it might feel like that. Back when Fortnite was first released, it was a much smaller title though.
At the moment, Fortnite is now a platform which spans multiple games. There are even multiple versions of Battle Royale to choose from, like OG, Reload, and the core Fortnite game. However, at launch Fortnite was something else entirely. Something now called Save the World. When was Fortnite made and how did it become the game we now know across all those Battle Royale seasons and updates?
Source: Epic
When Was Fortnite Made?
Fortnite was first released in 2017. July 17 2017, as an early access title. Not the free to play title it is now though. That was for Save the World’s initial release, which was then simply known as Fortnite. The game was being made for years before that though. It seems development began on what became Save the World in 2011, taking the next six years to polish it into the game that made it into Early Access in 2017.
That still isn’t really the answer to when was Battle Royale made though. Instead, that development period was for the original game. So, when did Battle Royale actually arrive?
Battle Royale and Save the World
Source: Epic
Battle Royale was published as a new addition to the game, shorting after noticing the success of PUBG. That game was out for around 3 months before Epic decided to add a Battle Royale into this title. Not to take over the game entirely, but to just be a free-to-play add on. A chance for players to test it out, before they played the core Save the World. Battle Royale was released on September 26h 2017 a quick cycle for when Fortnite was made compared to Save the World.
Then, it quickly became the more played mode. Within two weeks, it had ten million players. From there, it continued to grow.
Now the game is more of a platform than a single title. With different Royales available not to mention other modes like Lego. The title doesn’t seem likely to stop expanding anytime soon. However, back when Fortnite was made, the game was definitely a lot humbler. Just a handful of skins, minor items, even the map was half copied and pasted repeated POIs. It’s impressive how far the game has come.