Fortnite

The core gameplay of Fortnite Battle Royale follows the standard structure of the battle royale genre, played from a third-person perspective. Matches typically consist of up to 100 players, either competing individually or in squads of two, three, or four. Each round begins with players skydiving from a flying "Battle Bus" and landing on the island map. The island features a fixed layout with various named landmarks and points of interest. These locations contain randomly scattered chests that hold weapons, shields, and other combat resources. Only five items at a time can be stored in the inventory. Weapons are divided into rarities that dictate how much damage they inflict: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. The primary objective is to be the last player or team remaining, achieved by either eliminating opponents or avoiding them. In solo play, players are immediately eliminated once their health is fully depleted, but in squad modes, they become "downed" and may be revived by teammates or finished off by enemies. Originally, eliminated players were removed from the match entirely, but an update in April 2019 introduced "Reboot Vans" that allow teammates to revive a fallen player. These vans are scarce and typically placed in exposed locations, making the act of reviving a teammate a risk. Throughout the match, the playable area of the map, represented by the eye of a storm, gradually shrinks, and players outside the safe zone take increasing damage over time. This directs the surviving players into tighter spaces, forcing player encounters. Hostile NPCs, introduced in February 2020, can be defeated for additional or improved loot, while friendly NPCs, added in December 2020, offer services such as selling items, healing players, or temporarily joining the player as AI-controlled allies. Fortnite Battle Royale's main distinction from other battle royale games is the building system. Using the pickaxe, the only item given at the start of each game, nearly every object in the environment can be destroyed and harvested for materials—wood, stone, and metal—which players use to construct temporary structures like walls, ramps, floors, and roofs. These structures can serve to navigate the terrain, block incoming fire, or hinder enemy movement. Lighter materials allow for quick builds but are easily destroyed, while stronger materials are more durable but slower to place. Fortnite Battle Royale is free-to-play and monetized via microtransactions, allowing players to purchase "V-Bucks," a shared currency also usable in Save the World. Players can earn V-Bucks in Save the World by completing missions and daily objectives, then spend them in Battle Royale on cosmetic upgrades—such as outfits, gliders, emotes, backpacks, and pickaxes. The game is structured into chapters, each containing several seasons that typically last ten weeks. Every season introduces a new set of cosmetic items available through a "Battle Pass", which players progress through by gaining experience via gameplay or completing different challenges. A selection of rewards is free, but purchasing the full Battle Pass with V-Bucks grants access to all tiered rewards, and players can also spend V-Bucks to skip tiers. In December 2020, Epic launched the "Fortnite Crew" subscription, providing members with the latest Battle Pass, a monthly V-Bucks stipend, and exclusive cosmetic content. Epic Games has continuously added new features to Fortnite Battle Royale, including weapons, vehicles, and items. The company can deploy hotfixes to quickly adjust gameplay elements such as weapon stats and item spawn rates. Items may also be cycled out in a process known as "vaulting" if they are unbalanced or unpopular. In December 2018, Epic simultaneously launched Fortnite Creative, a mode allowing players to create anything they wanted, and "The Block", a rotating showcase of community-made creations added to the Battle Royale map. One year later, Epic released the "Battle Lab" mode, which allowed players to design custom battle royale experiences, but this was removed due to the expanded capabilities of Creative mode. In April 2020, Epic introduced "Party Royale," a separate, combat-free map designed for social interaction and live events, where players can use non-lethal items such as paint guns and vehicles. Before September 2019, matchmaking was primarily determined by platform and region, but an update introduced skill-based matchmaking, using internal metrics to evaluate player performance. Epic also added AI-controlled bots into regular matches, allowing new or less experienced players to practice mechanics and strategies more comfortably.