It’s been over four years since Fortnite moved on from Chapter 1. Those couple years that Fortnite ran in its prime generated nearly $5.4 billion for Epic Games, its proprietor. Over $20 million was shared to the victors of Fortnite tournaments and competitions during 2018 alone. 

It is widely held that Fortnite’s golden era piqued around the beginning of the game. During this period, celebrities like Drake, Travis Scott, Marshmello, and Josh Hart joined the hype surrounding Fortnite, which only elevated its relevance. These events, and the careers the hype created, gave Fortnite the legacy it’s renowned for. 

Part of the reason for Fortnite’s success during this period were the consistent updates, large player base, low skill gap, and the memorable in-game map. Even today, after four years of the map’s evolution, people complain that the decrease in hype is due to the less popular map we see now. 

As so, Fortnite is nowhere near as popular, or well-known as it was from 2017-2019. When brought up to older generations, it’s a relic or a forgotten trend. Players have since begged Epic Games to renew the old map, in hopes this might bring back the hype the game once had. People who played the game during its golden era associate the good times they had during childhood with the success of Fortnite, so to many, the renewal of peak Fortnite is also the renewal of some of their favorite childhood memories

On October 11th, at 1:11 PM, dataminer and leaker HYPHEX searched through Fortnite’s code and uncovered clues revealing a possible return to Chapter 1 Fortnite. This remained relatively underground until Fortnite officially revealed possible leads to the return to Chapter 1 by sending Fortnite livestreamers care packages containing a vinyl record with the original Chapter 1 soundtrack. This escalated when Epic Games sent other viral content creators large in-game monuments to their homes. Creators like Ninja, CourageJD, TimTheTatman and DrLupo received a life-size Durr Burger, Truck ‘n’ Oasis sign, Tomato Head, and the Dusty Diner statue respectively. All of these are iconic figureheads of the golden era of Fortnite. Just this week Fortnite finally stated the name of the upcoming chapter, “OG”, ultimately confirming the projected return.

As of Friday, November 3rd, the release of the new chapter, Fortnite has just hit a new highest player count of 1,790,877. Not only this, but the sudden surge in players resulted in the crash of all game servers for several hours. New highly anticipated changes that went unconfirmed surprised players Friday morning, contributing to the high player count.

Players rejoiced. Finally, after over 4 years of MID, Fortnite might finally be restored to its former glory. The reason this was so important to veteran players is that for most, it takes them back to a time when they didn’t have adult responsibilities, and spent hours online with their friends.

 For students at South, the nostalgia of prime Fortnite comes from when they were in middle school and did not have the stress of high school and early adulthood. Most don’t miss actually playing on the older map, they miss the times they spent with their friends, a sad truth but one relevant to players and students who have been eager for its return. The revival of the old map is more of a symbol of the times they cherished, like a memory they are able to relive.

This may seem like a cheap cop-out method by Epic Games to breathe back life into their game, and it certainly could be, but it will still serve as a nice reminder of the good times players shared on this game. People will enjoy seeing the old POIs they remember as they invite old friends back online and rebooted relationships that started on this game. The new chapter means a lot to returning players because it serves as a bridge to severed relationships, old memories, and the feeling of childhood freedom, something that we have Fortnite to thank for.