For nearly a decade, Fortnite has been considered the de-facto metaverse, blending all sorts of elements of pop culture into one world, from cartoons to anime to live-action movies and music, with celebrities and athletes intermixed between.
However, on the back of Epic Games announcing sweeping layoffs after significant price hikes, could its run be ending? According to one analyst, the live-service battle royale's "cultural moment" is fading.
As first spotted by FRVR, games industry analyst and researcher Joost van Dreunen has opined that the stagnation of Fortnite with respect to its player count, coupled with limited creativity has put the title on its backfoot.
"Last week, it became painfully clear that, at long last, Fortnite's cultural moment is starting to fade," van Dreunen wrote. "Its active user count has been more or less stagnant for several years, in contrast to rivals like Roblox, which have grown."
Included among the 1,000 laid off this week from Epic Games was Mike Prinke, a terminally ill father battling cancer.
Specifically, van Dreunen pointed to an abundance of collaborations, but with limited ceilings. "You can play as Darth Vader, but you can’t make him your favorite color, give him wings,...
