Epic Games is turning up the heat since the release of Apex Legends. While not everything is confirmed, Epic is rolling out all kinds of new updates and events as Apex rises. Apex is up to 10 million players in just three days and Epic is responding very quickly. Fans of Fortnite are speculating Epic has been sitting on some features in case this ever happened and is just now rolling them out. Whether this is true or not, Epic seems to be fueled by Apex’s sudden success and is rolling out some great things for Fortnite.
Share the Love competition tournament spray // Image courtesy of Epic Games
The Share The Love event starts Feb. 8 and runs until Feb. 27, right before Season eight releases. During this event, players will see things like featured islands in creative rotating every day, giving more people exposure. Double XP is also going live Feb. 15-17 and 22-24, so maxing out the battle pass is a breeze this season.
This event will also feature a competitive series starting Feb. 9 with four different divisions players can get into. Players are placed in divisions based on performance and unlock the next division up by earning a pin during a session. Players who earn a pin in the Champion division, which is the highest, will gain access to the finals that take place Feb. 23-24. This tournament is huge for anyone looking to get their name out there. Large and small streamers who want to compete on a higher level have a chance to be great in front of the audience these events bring. Streamers like Ironcastaway offer amazing gameplay and content but aren’t as well known in the community. Events like the Champion Division Finals can change all of that, as long as players perform well.
Along with this update, Epic is also rewarding players with a creator code 4x the amount of revenue during the duration of the event. An email addressing all of the changes was sent to all of the participants with a code. Players then posted the email on social media to address the change and ask for support. To incentivize players to use a code, players who support a creator of their choice receive a free wrap. The cuddle hearts wrap is covered in broken hearts and is given to players after the v7.40 update is released.
Variations of battle pass skins released with the update // Image courtesy of Epic Games
Overtime challenges also roll out with the Share The Love Event and offer players five new rewards upon completion. These rewards include an additional Valentine Wrap and a Vines contrail. Battle pass owners will also get additional variants for Onesie, Trog and Powder, as seen in the photo on the left. It is not clear if these challenges are unlocked after release or if all 10 weeks have to be completed before players have access. These challenges are a great move by Epic since the next season is still three weeks away. With week 10 coming to an end, it’s good to see additional things for players to work for during the last few weeks.
In-game look at custom matchmaking option // In-game capture by Nicholas Rivera
Custom matchmaking for Fortnite has been in development for a long time, but it is finally here, kind of. Epic has granted pro players with exclusive access to create these custom games. Players like Tfue and Obey Nicks hosted games for viewers on stream and posted links to the games in discord. Tfue even tweeted out that he wants to start custom scrim lobbies. This makes scrims a much more competitive platform now since customs cuts down on dilution of players. Now a lobby can be all scrims players instead of a half and half mix. The custom matchmaking also allows better organization for tournaments and events to be hosted. To join one of these lobbies, players just have to select a game mode, click custom options, and type in the match key.
Epic will need to continue these updates and new content as there is some fresh competition in the battle royale genre. If they slow down too much, Apex might gain some of the Fortnite player-base and limelight.
Feature Image Courtesy of Epic Games
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