Is your boyfriend not answering his texts, Snapchats, and FaceTime calls? Chances are, he’s playing Fortnite.

What’s the big deal about Fortnite?

Think Hunger Games but bigger. Fortnite is a big online fight. You start in the bus lobby where servers are being filled up to 100 players. Once servers are full a bus flies over the expended map where you can parachute down to a town or area of your choice. Once you land you are able to collect guns, ammo, and building materials.

To make things more interesting and to insure the game has a time limit, there is a storm that closes in on a certain area. You have only a few minutes to get into the circle where the storm can’t hit until it shrinks again. If you do get caught in the storm you lose health.

While avoiding the storm and going into the circle you will come upon players and fight. You can build walls and ramps to protect yourself and get the higher ground. If you make it to the end and kill the last person, you win the game and return to the main lobby to start again. You can play solo, team up with a partner, or play with a squad of four.

In Battle Royale you can buy outfits, dance moves, and a battle pass which gives you perks to challenges and outfits.

“I like playing Fortnite because it’s very rewarding and fun when you win, I could also play with my friends,” says Connor Burke (Junior).

Senior Tyler Sweppenhiser is also a big fan of Battle Royale: “I like that the game is constantly updated with new things and special game modes.”

Fortnite was originally only a zombie game. However, after PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battle Grounds) released “Battle Royale” in March 2017, Epic Games realized the success and released their own take on Battle Royale for Fortnite in September 2017.

Tyler Sweppenhiser says, “I bought the full game of Fortnite before it had the Battle Royale feature. Back then it was only called “Save the World”. It was really fun but it didn’t really have enough to keep me playing until it was updated more. Now Fortnite holds my attention by creating a randomized experience every time that could be funny, frustrating and sometimes both.”

Players choose Fortnite over PUBG for a main reason. Fortnite is free and PUBG is not. Fortnite has more than 45 million players and got $126 million just in February.

“In Battle Royale I’ve probably spent $30.00 total on outfits and battle passes for my brother and me.” Sweppenhiser says.

Fortnite has brought in a huge fan base. About 200,000 people watch live streams on Twitch regularly. Twitch is a live streaming site for videos. The most famous Fortnite players like Ninja and CDNThe3rd live stream regularly. Anyone can play whether they have an XBOX 1, PS4, or PC. Many celebrities such as Drake and Marshmello have logged on and teamed up with the professional Fortnite player, Ninja.

Tyler Sweppenhiser has a Twitch to post videos, and to watch fellow gamers. “I stream every now and then for fun on my account ‘Tysride99’. I really only watch Ninja because he plays with a lot of celebrities like Drake and Marshmello. If he isn’t with someone famous then I usually don’t watch.”

Recently, Ninja teamed up with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and famous rappers Drake and Travis Scott to play Fortnite’s Battle Royale. While streaming they broke a record of viewers when more than 600,000 people watched.

Fortnite had strongly kept people’s attention for the last 7 months, so it wasn’t surprising that the players were worried when they heard the game is being sued by PUBG and will be shut down in May. However, it was confirmed it’s just a rumor and Fortnite’s Battle Royale feature will continue to operate.