Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world.
'Nope, Fortnite is not shutting down,' said spokesperson Nick Chester in an email to CBC Kids News. In this sample of a fake story generated on the React2424.com website, a small note at the top. UPDATE: Fortnite servers are starting to shut down, and boot players, with live game service going offline completely at 9 am GMT. The latest from Epic Games reads: 'We're beginning to disable.
Fortnite and its parent company Epic Games have never been afraid to shake things up. That's how it became the most popular game in the world today.
Now, they're taking that same attitude that got them there to the doorsteps of two of the biggest tech companies in the world in Apple and Google.
Fortnite mysteriously disappeared from the Apple Store on Thursday without a trace. If users already had the game downloaded to their phones, it was still there. But anyone looking for the game? It was nowhere to be found.
Come to find out, Apple flatout removed it from the App Store.
A few hours later, it was also banned on Google's Play Store.
Then, shortly after that, Epic Games dropped a commercial on Fortnite and YouTube called 'Nineteen-Eighty-Fortnite' and everything went off the rails.
Lost in all the madness? Don't worry. Here's what's happening.
Wait, wait, wait. Why did Apple ban Fortnite?
So on Fortnite, there are these things called V-Bucks. Think of them as virtual tokens you can use to purchase new 'skins' and collectables on the game.
To actually get V-Bucks, though, you pay real life cash. Generally speaking, to this point, about 1,000 V-Bucks cost $9.99 in real life when purchased through the Apple Store or the Google Play store. Until now, those have been the only mediums to purchase them through on mobile platforms.
Until now, anyway. And here's where things get tricky and the beef starts brewing.
Epic Games changed that. They created an in-game direct payment system that charged $7.99 for those same 1,000 V-Bucks instead of $9.99.
So they're saving gamers a couple of dollars?
Yup, exactly. Instead of having them pay for the V-Bucks through Apple's and Google's systems, they give them a better deal in doing it through their own.
Why would they be shut down for that?
Well, it's a problem for Apple and Google as the hosting platforms. This tweet from Esports expert Matthew Ball explains it well.
In exchange for hosting Fortnite on the App Store on the Google Play Store, the platforms review the app for users and charge a 30% commission on in-app purchases.
Epic Game's in-game store circumvents that 30% commission, which Apple and Google say is a violation of the original agreement. So, therefore, they've removed the game.
So as long as this in-app store exists we won't see Fortnite on our phones?
If you don't already have it, no. At least not for iPhones anyway. Fortnite is still available through other app stores on Android systems. Tough luck, iPhone crowd.
Don't worry. Epic Games isn't sitting still, though. They're suing both Googleand Apple for the removal of the game from their platforms. And, the thing is, they clearly expected this to happen.
What do you mean?
Fis Fortnite Shutting Down
Epic Games broke out those lawsuits against both companies shortly after Fortnite was removed from both Google Play and the App Store. They counted on each company taking the actions they did.
And, as a public response, they dropped a Fortnite-style commercial you might recognize.
This is a clear shot at Apple's famous Super Bowl commercial set in an Orewllian '1984' dystopia from back in the day.
That's feels mad dramatic here, but whatever. You get the point.
What's their purpose in all of this?
Florida casino list. That's the thing — it's hard to really say. They're calling the current system they're working in a 'monopoly,' and they'll battle it out in court to try and prove it.
https://seoyeseowa.weebly.com/go-bananas-reviews.html. Red giant universe premium 3 2. But, honestly, it just seems like they're trying to skip over paying the commission fee to their current distributors in Apple and Google which…fine.
But they've turned this into a public relations battle and it's hard to tell how much ground they actually have to stand on.
This is weird and complicated.
Very much so. But it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Fortnite fans, you'll want to keep your eyes on this one.
Fortnite's big Galactus event has come and gone, and it was an exciting, if somewhat brief, live event. It concluded with the confirmation of when Season 5 will begin, but perhaps more notable right now is that you can't play Fortnite. Servers are down, and that's by design.
What Is Fortnite Shutting Down Xbox
The live event concluded with a 'to be continued in Season 5' message, along with a seven-hour countdown that reveals a start time for Season 5: 12 AM ET on December 2. However, rather than sending players back to the menu to continue playing or grinding away at the battle pass, the only option is 'exit.' That closes out the game, and re-opening it only replays this short message from the end of the event. There's no way to access any component of the game right now, even including something like Fortnite Creative or Save the World, let alone the Battle Royale mode that functions as the game's main aspect.
As Epic said in advance, you can't replay the event, but it turns out you can't do anything. Hopefully you didn't have plans to play Fortnite tonight. This isn't the first time Epic has done this--previously, it shut down Fortnite for days, which proved to be quite the unexpected viral moment. It's not often a massively popular game is shut down in that fashion. In this case, the wait won't be quite so long--following the conclusion of the Galactus event, there were just over seven hours until Season 5 begins and Fortnite returns.
Fortnite Shutting Down Tweet
What Time Will Fortnite Be Back?
It turns out you still won't be able to play even after this countdown ends. Epic announced on Twitter that Fortnite is in a 'prep state' for Season 5 and the v15.00 update that will be released to kick it off. Server downtime will commence at 12 AM and run for four hours, which means Fortnite will become playable at 1 AM PT / 4 AM ET / 9 AM GMT. Of course, that's barring any issues that might arise and necessitate maintenance to be extended.
We still don't really know what to expect from Season 5, but it appears it may continue the story of Jonesy that was teased as part of The Device event. Beyond that, we really don't know much, but stay tuned.
