Fortnite, the global gaming fever that has new season released this Thursday | Games

This revelation by Steve Asarch, a video game badyst, helps to give an idea of ​​the addictive power of the game of the moment: the Fortnite.

The free action and shooting game, launched in 2017, has 125 million users, according to Forbes magazine. This Thursday (6), released the seventh season of the game, with new tools, improvements and a new game mode.

Fortnite combines building construction, first-person play and, most importantly, can be played from one device to another.

The game became even better known in Brazil at the World Cup in Russia, when players made their game known to the public, even those who do not belong to the world of video games.

Footballers like Englishman Jesse Lingard and Englishman Antoine Griezmann celebrated the goals by doing a little dance of the game in which we handly give the letter "L", de loser, which means in English "loser". On Twitter, several users posted these celebrations at the World Championships

Roulette: "Griezmann with his Fortnite Celebration" href = "https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" url = "https://twitter.com/hashtag/ WorldCup? Src = hash & ref_src = twsrc% 5Etfw "> # WorldCup <! – > href =" https://t.co/tBuRig9KF1 "url =" https://t.co/tBuRig9KF1 "> image. main version of the game, called Battle Royale, can be downloaded for free, but there is also a paid version., Save the World.

And players can also spend real money, as was the case with the badyst Asarch, because it is possible to buy objects in the game to customize the appearance of their characters and their celebratory dance.On February this year, Epic realized 126 million dollars in sales in the game.

Fornite is an example of a gradual change in the gaming market in recent years.

The release of new seasons with information is constant in the game, but the idea to have many updates and many downloadable content (called D LC) is not specific to Fornite. This means that the games purchased ultimately offer an ever-changing experience.

Increasingly, thanks to the downloadable content, the game you buy initially is very different from the version you will play after months or even years. Games are increasingly seen as a service rather than a product.

Since its launch, the game has more than 3.4 million people playing at the same time.

Many people were wondering if players spending hours immersed in the activity would pose any health risk, but a Glasgow Caledonian University researcher said that it was not safe for anyone. He had seen no reason to worry.

"It's true that it's very difficult for people to stop playing," said BBC games researcher Andrew Reich, adding that the game's experience was different for each player and changed on each occasion.

"You must not stigmatize people who spend many hours playing Fortnite."

But what is Fortnite's interest and what are the reasons for its impressive success?

After six years of development, Epic Games launched Fortnite in July 2017.

This is a survival game in cooperation with other players, which also allows you to build structures with materials contained in your virtual universe.

In its most popular version, the Battle Royale, 100 players face each other to see who is the last survivor.

"It's like playing Minecraft, but here you can kill zombies or other players," said Aja Romano, video game specialist on the Vox news portal.

The game is free and available on Xbox and Playstation consoles, as well as on Windows and Mac software platforms. It is also available in Apple's app stores and its creators have promised to make an Android version available from September.

"The game is very popular because it has been carefully designed to give you an experience that will set you apart," said Andrews.

However, its success with video game users has also aroused the concern of security experts, the fact that it can be read on different platforms and devices could be exploited by hackers to collect user data.

According to experts, the game design is one of its main attractions. But there are other factors that contribute to their success, they say.

First, it is not a traditional linear game, because its story is created as it progresses.

"This is not just free, it is available on many platforms," ​​BBC reporter Raul Fernandez, a journalist for the Akihabara Blues video game portal, told BBC. "The matches are fast and addictive, and winning generates immense satisfaction."

"In addition, every week, new updates allow players to try new objects or mechanisms."

In addition, barriers were torn between most platforms; players on an iPhone can play with or against someone on a Mac, PC or Playstation, which was not possible before.

This revealed a new challenge for the industry: the need to meet the demand for games between different consoles – which, despite Fortnite's progress, is still not possible. In other words, it is not possible for a Playstation 4 player to compete with someone who uses an Xbox.

"The solution to this problem is not only imminent but inevitable," said Tim Sweeney, director of game programming.

Meanwhile, researcher Andrew Reich makes a suggestion to parents worried about the time that their children spend for a long time in connection with the world of Fortnite.