Debuting all the way back in 2017,Fortnitehas only continued to grow more popular with age. Towards the end of 2023,Fortnitemanaged to break several of its own player-count records, with itsFortniteOG Seasonbringing in almost 45 million players in just one day, and the game managing to reach 100 million players during the month of November. Though those records haven’t been officially broken since,Fortnite’s popularity hasn’t died down, with the latest statistics suggesting that almost 1.5 million players still log in every single day.
When compared directly to its competition,Fortnitestill stands head and shoulders above the rest, maintaining a much higher active player-count than bothApex LegendsandCall of Duty: Warzone.Fortnitecertainly isn’t the flash-in-the-pan that many thought it would be years ago, and it still doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. And with all this continued success, it’s only natural that so many publishers and developers are still trying to replicateFortnite’s formula, and if anyone was going to do it successfully, it would be Nintendo, with Mario being its secret weapon.
Nintendo Could Have its Own Fortnite-Like Hub With Mario
Fortnite Has Become Its Own Gaming Platform
While its constant updates and its frequent pop-culture collaborations have kept fans coming back toFortniteweek after week over these last seven years, it’sFortnite’s latest major additions that have really pushed the game back into the forefront of the industry. Coming right at the end of last year,Fortnite’s Chapter 5 Season 1 updateturned the game into a fully-fledged gaming platform, with three entirely new, larger-scale game modes being added to the game.
These three new modes consisted of the Harmonix-developed,Rock Band-like Fortnite Festival, theRocket League-adjacent kart racer Rocket Racing, and by far the most popular of the lot, the open-world survival crafting game LEGO Fortnite. Essentially full games in their own right, these three large-scale modes are all accessed throughFortnite’s in-game menus, and require no additional installation, makingFortniteits own platform.
While these three modes are still being added to with eachnewFortniteseason, it still feels like this is only scratching the surface of what this new era ofFortnitecould be. There are countless genres just waiting to be used for the nextFortnitegame mode, from a fighting game, to a sports game, to anything in between.
Nintendo Could Have Its Own Mario-Focused Gaming Platform
Though it seems content doing its own thing, Nintendo could easily have its ownFortnite-like gaming platform, and Mario is the key. Over the last few decades, the Mario brothers really gotten around, starring in countless games spanning a vast range of genres, from sports titles, to platform-fighters, to RPGs, to turn-based strategies, and a whole lot more. So, with that precedent already being set, it would be easy for Nintendo to create its own hub forSuper Mario.
Nintendo could begin by focusing the platform aroundMario Maker, letting players create their own 2DMariolevels once again, and this time, also letting them create their own 3DMarioworlds. With that as the basis, Nintendo could then start to add in more systems and assets based on otherpopularMarioseries, such asMario Kart, Mario’s various sports outings,Dr. Mario, and maybe eventually evenPaper Mario. Even if Nintendo didn’t want to allow players to use these assets to create their own smaller-scaleMariogames, it could still add in its own game modes based on theseMarioseries, potentially charging a smaller amount for each one added to the game.
Fortnite
WHERE TO PLAY
Create, play, and battle with friends for free in Fortnite. Be the last player standing in Battle Royale and Zero Build, experience a concert or live event, or discover over a million creator made games, including racing, parkour, zombie survival, and more. Each Fortnite island has an individual age rating so you can find the one that’s right for you and your friends.Explore large, destructible environments where no two games are ever the same. Team up with friends by sprinting, climbing and smashing your way to earn your Victory Royale, whether you choose to build up in Fortnite Battle Royale or go no-builds in Fortnite Zero Build.Discover even more ways to play across thousands of creator-made game genres: adventure, roleplay, survival and more. Or, band together with up to three friends to fend off hordes of monsters in Save the World.
