Tfue is making waves in the media once more, this time due to controversial comments regardingFortnite.Fortniteis Tfue’s claim to fame and the game that he plays virtually every day on Twitch. He also participated inFortniteinvitational and charity streams as they happen. But Tfue apparently has a low opinion regardingFortnite’s competitive scene, saying on a recent Twitch stream that “Fortnite is not a competitive game.”
“I’m going to say this now. Fortnite is not a competitive game. I don’t care what anyone says,” Tfue said. He goes on to explicitly repeat thatFortniteis not a competitive game, adding that he doesn’t see it as an esport and that no one playingFortnitecompetitively is apro player. “This game isn’t competitive at all,” he goes on, explaining to his viewers that, “It’s made up; it’s not real. If you’re a competitiveFortniteplayer, you’re living in a fantasy land because this game is so far from competitive, it’s not even close.”
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Fortniteis undoubtedly played competitively.Fortnite’s battle royale modes feature skill-based matchmaking, though it’s very loose to ensure quick matchmaking. There are no rankings, either, butFortnitedoes feature big tournaments. The Fortnite World Cup 2019 was one of the biggest tournaments ever, rewarding $3,000,000 to its winner.
The question becomes whether there’s a difference between a game that’s played competitive and, as Tfue says, a competitive game or an esport. What that difference is will change with person to person, but there’s definitely a huge number ofFortniteplayers who’ve made careers off of their work through streaming, and some throughFortnite’s tournaments. Twitch streaming could be considered a completely different scene than esports, however.
If the criticism was thatFortnitedoesn’t really have an esports scene like other games, that would probably be accurate. There aren’t constant leagues or professional teams with in-houseFortnitescrims going week-to-week.Twitch streamingis all-but-required to be successful atFortnite,and Tfue, more than most, would be well aware of what that means.
Perhaps there’s something toTfue’s description of theFortnitecompetitive scene, or maybe he’s being exaggerative and inflammatory like Tfue is well known to be. The struggles of battle royale games to create substantive esports scenes is well documented, despite publishers' best efforts, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t esports— It’s just not quite up to the expectations some might have based on other esports.
Fortniteis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
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