"Fortnite" puts a foot in e-sport

The next World Cup world will take place in 2019. In the field, not eleven players but a hundred, each behind their screen. After conquering the general public, "Fortnite", the game that attracted 125 million followers in just one year, seeks to consolidate its position in gamers.

June 12, Epic Games, the studio This survival game, which aims to kill its 99 opponents in 20 minutes, has announced that it will endow its competitions with a record $ 100 million (€ 86 million) of staffing, to reward the best competitors. " The $ 100 million will be divided between many meetings at different levels of the competition around the world" says the studio.

Since then, fans are becoming impatient and the profession of e -sport (these video game competitions that are played in a network, online …) questions. " This means that professional players will be able to engage and organize themselves into teams. The game will not only be nice, it will also be a source of income " explains Bertrand Amar, director of audiovisual development of Webedia Group and Director of ES1, a television channel specializing in e-sports. But he points to the astronomical amount involved. "This is four times more than the previous record [détenu par Dota 2]. It is almost disturbing. The sums invested in other tournaments may seem ridiculous after that . "

Multiplication of tournaments

If Epic Game embarks on the organization of competitions, it is because tournaments around its game had tendency to multiply. A first meeting took place at E3, one of the largest international video gaming and interactive entertainment exhibitions. On this occasion, a spectator mode was set up. The advantage: the user who follows the game on his phone or computer does not miss anything of the heat of the action. Until now, it was possible to see only one player, which was long and boring. This mode is expected to be open to the general public. " That should not be long. It is necessary to go quickly to face the competition and to allow the teams to organize themselves " adds Mr. Amar.

Sign of the growing fame of" Fortnite ", the Gotaga Show, event organized on the lake of Enghien-les-Bains by the Casino Barrière, gathered about 6 000 fans of the game Friday, June 29th. Some fans, having not booked their seats in time, had to follow the games from the outside, staring at giant screens. On the web, the event gathered hundreds of thousands of viewers with an audience peak of 243,248.

Gotaga's feverish comments

The presents were not just there to follow parts of " Fortnite ", but also to listen to the heated comments of Gotaga, one of the best players and commentator. This star in the French video game industry co-founded Vitality, a team that does not hide its ambitions. "We want to create a big thing. Vitality trusts me and honestly if we talk about a budget for Fortnite it would be seven digits "detailed Corentin" Gotaga "at the site L'Equipe at the beginning of the month of June. Vitality has achieved a first fundraising of 2.5 million euros in February in order to develop its activities, the structure will surely repeat the operation.

If the competition mode is slow to see the light, is that the logistics to bring together 100 players from around the world and ensure a sufficient flow for millions of Internet users … is a challenge. Another question: the modalities of future competitions. Will it be a league, a league, seasonal tournaments …? And speculation is going on with the organization that will be privileged, solo, duo or teams. " Although one can imagine individual competitions, the publisher should favor competitions in teams or duets. This makes it possible to set up collective strategies and cumulative scores "adds Amar. Qualifiers for the "Fortnite" World Cup, currently scheduled for late 2019, will begin in the fall of 2018.