We list the ten games of the decade. These are the ten PlayStation titles released over the past ten years that we believe have made industry history. From Destiny's impact on games as a service space to Journey's innovative approach to online connectivity, these are the releases the industry will be referring to until 2020 and beyond.
When Ninja streamed Fortnite with Drake on Twitch, everything changed. Epic Games' PlayerUnknown's Battleground had been doing quite well since it launched in September 2017 in Early Access on PlayStation 4, but it took another six months to really hit the mainstream. Joined by Travis Scott, the American rapper and Ninja broke viewing records at the time and shot Fortnite into the stratosphere. The rest is history – Fortnite became the biggest and most popular video game in the world, and continues to hold that title to this day.
But it has not always been so. Released at the height of PUBG dominance, it was widely seen as a straight-up rip-off of the realistic battle royale shooter in an effort to prop up Epic Games' failing Save the World campaign. Well, it absolutely was. Make no mistake, Fortnite as we know it today wouldn't exist without the popularity of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. However, this is how the most kid-friendly version of the battle to become number one put the competition to shame as it outpaced player count and engagement in every way imaginable.
Fast track to the end of 2019 and Fortnite is literally everywhere, but it goes deeper. Gambling has become so ingrained in society and a part of culture that it has the potential to be a substantial part of childhood. Gone are the days of Power Rangers, Digimon or even Pokemon – Fortnite replaced them. We now live in a world where today's kids will remember Battle Royale victories and late night matches with their classmates. And that's an amazing thing. His dances and emotes are common knowledge, the t-shirts and merchandise sold worldwide. Fortnite has enjoyed success unlike any other video game in history.
However, it did not achieve this simply by stagnating. Epic Games has consistently partnered with the biggest entertainment products to create simple, unimaginable events in other titles. From two Avengers modes to coincide with the theatrical releases of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame to Keanu Reeves' John Wick 3: Parabellum spawning an in-game skin from the movie star himself, Fortnite has capitalized on pop culture events at a truly impressive rate. Hell, players could catch a brand new clip from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker just under a week ago while playing the game if they landed in the right spot. How crazy is that?
And then there are the world-changing in-game events that come with the climax of each season. Attracting millions and millions of viewers in-game and on streaming platforms, these are moments worth capturing live for those who don't even play the game. They dramatically change the map in the process. , but it's what's happening in the moment that makes the proceedings so special. From the launch of the rocket that ripped a hole in Fortnite's sky to the in-game Marshmello concert, the world knows something magical is about to happen when the developer brings their next big thing to your attention.
Epic Games even had the audacity to take the game in its entirety offline for two days before the start of Fortnite: Season 2, letting the hype reach fever pitch before players were allowed back in after a server maintenance. cleverly disguised. When a studio can turn the fact that you can't play their game into an event, you know you've got something pretty spectacular on your hands.
You may not like Fortnite, and that's fine, but its influence, reach, and popularity are categorically impossible to deny. It's a game that keeps its passionate player base on its toes at all times as it tells a story through large-scale in-game events, while leaving room for daily balance changes and tweaks to the card to satisfy the most hardcore of the lot. People from all over the world are coming back more and more, and there's a reason for that. Fortnite deserves its place as the biggest video game in the world.
Do you play Fortnite? Would you agree that this is one of the most impactful games of this decade? Jump off the Battle Bus in the comments below.
