Fortnite is no longer just for kids, if it ever was.
Once a stomping ground for school kids and teenage millionaires, the video game now boasts over 500 million registered player accounts worldwide, 100 million of which were active players in November 2023. Not all of them are teenage gamers — they’re also working parents, retirees and young professionals from all walks of life who’ve found a community in Fortnite’s ever-expanding universe.
Now that Disney announced it is investing $1.5 billion in parent company Epic Games, the Fortnite universe will be expanding even more.
“Fortnite has been my go-to activity after work to unwind,” Nancy, 28, the creator of Girlies Squad, a gaming Discord group for female Fortnite players, told Yahoo News. (Nancy declined to give her last name.) “It’s not just kids playing. There are many girls that all hold full-time jobs, as well as moms.”
The game offers more than an escape. For some, it’s forging deeper bonds and connections with loved ones.
“The thing I love the most about it is playing with my 13-year-old son,” Derek Huffman, 47, a self-proclaimed “Fortnite Adult,” told Yahoo News. “I feel like I never truly knew him until we started playing Fortnite together.”
As Huffman explained, the term “Fortnite Adult” is a self-described label given to an adult who plays the game with as much enthusiasm as any teenage player. A growing number of Adult Fortnite Facebook groups and new gameplay options (or modes) that cater to older clientele for its gunplay and difficulty levels, like Fortnite’s Zero Build, he explained, add to the game’s mature appeal.
“We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg of what the game will offer,” said Huffman. “The popularity of Fortnite among children has created a misconception that it’s a kids’ game, but it’s really not. Adults are starting to figure out that it’s a fun time.”
The adult invasion of Fortnite
Fortnite’s popularity with young adults was apparent after successful back-to-back collaborations with recognizable brands. That includes Marvel, DC Comics, Star Wars, LEGO as well as artists like Travis Scott, Ariana Grande and, most recently, the Weeknd and Lady Gaga, who were the first musicians to headline Seasons 1 and 2 of Fortnite Festival, where users can join a virtual music festival.
Such partnerships have been introduced over the game’s 29-season span, beginning in 2017, and they add unique elements such as character skins (cosmetic outfits for player characters that can be acquired through various methods), virtual concerts and more to the Fortnite universe.
Nancy said such additions are a major appeal for millennials. “The Girlies Squad have been loving Lady Gaga’s appearance in Fortnite,” she said of her Fortnite community. “Many girls rushed to post about their purchase of Lady Gaga items!”
Huffman says Fortnite’s inclusion of characters from Marvel and DC Comics helped solidify his and his son’s shared passion for the game.
“My son had been struggling to unlock the Wolverine skin,” he explained. “Some of his buddies had pulled it off, and his frustration turned to tears. That’s when I said, ‘That’s it. Your dad’s gonna help you take that bastard down!’ It wasn’t too long before we pulled it off, and a huge celebration followed. At that point, I was hooked [on the game].”
Some gamers have taken to Reddit in search of like-minded adults to play with — including a 75-year-old grandmother going by @GrumpyGran1948 on TikTok and Twitch, who’s played Fortnite since it first launched.
“I was bad then and I am worse now,” she claimed on Reddit. “I would love to play with an older person who can’t see very well, whose aim isn’t good and who doesn’t know how to build.”
Abby Berner, 22, discovered Fortnite last year and has become an avid player. She’s since played with people “from all over the world.”
“I’ve met so many friends through Fortnite,” she told Yahoo News. “Fortnite is a game that everyone can play. I think it’s definitely brought more people of all ages by adding new updates.”
“I actually enjoy being bad at the game,” Huffman admitted. “I like being the underdog: Sneaking, hiding and running for cover. I feel like John McClane in Die Hard. I have to come up with ways to outsmart the enemy.”
How did we get here?
Developed by Epic Games, Fortnite launched its “Save the World” gameplay option in July 2017. A tower defense-style game where players scrounge for resources and build structures to fend off enemies, it gained a following among kids and young adults.
That led to the creation of a second mode for teens called “Battle Royale,” launched in September 2017, where players scavenge for weapons and items, fighting to be the last person or team standing as the areas around them shrink. It became a cultural phenomenon and played a vital role in popularizing the battle royale genre globally.
A third mode, “Creative,” was introduced in December 2018, allowing players to design, customize and share their own games within the Fornite universe, with individual players being able to rate their experience.
In December 2023, three additional modes were introduced: LEGO Fortnite, a multibillion dollar investment from the LEGO Group; Rocket Racing, a collaboration with Psyonix (maker of the popular game Rocket League); and Fortnite Festival, a world solely dedicated to music similar to apps like Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
‘Disney Adults’ meet ‘Fortnite Adults’
On Feb. 7, Disney announced a $1.5 billion investment to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games. While the entertainment giant has dabbled in video games over the years — including the Kingdom Hearts franchise — a source close to Disney told Yahoo News that the investment is reflective of the long-term commitment Disney is making to gaming, virtual reality and family entertainment as a whole.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney echoed those sentiments in a press release about the deal, saying, “We’re collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities.”
Interoperability is key in the years ahead, an Epic Games rep told Yahoo News. It refers to the level of cross-functionality or integration between the different game modes.
For example, if you’ve earned or bought various outfits over the years while playing “Battle Royale,” you can still wear them while playing “LEGO Fortnite.” Similarly, you can be a humanoid version of Lady Gaga in “Battle Royale” and “Fortnite Festival,” then switch over to LEGO Fortnite as a LEGO-version of the Gaga character you developed.
According to experts, interoperability within the Disney and Fortnite universes is a major win for “Disney Adults” and “Fortnite Adults” alike.
“For Epic, they can leverage the diverse portfolio of Disney IPs to help diversify the demographics of their Fortnite user base, which historically skewed more heavily towards 18+ males,” Yonatan Raz-Fridman, founder of virtual world developer Supersocial, told Yahoo News. “We are just scratching the surface of brands activating in these platforms [and] all the possible brands that could enter them.”
Nancy and Huffman are excited about the prospects of welcoming Disney into their universe.
“I love everything to do with Disney, and thinking about how there will be Disney skins is just awesome!” Nancy exclaimed. “There’s just something very nostalgic about it.”
“Epic Games is really good at not isolating players when they introduce new collaborations. I expect the same with Disney,” added Huffman. “All it does is attract new people to the game, and I think that’s a good thing.”
