November 3rd, 2023, BE. (Before Eminem)

You feel your palms sweat as you grow closer to the number one spot. Watching intently the number of players slowly dwindled from five, to four, to three, to two, and soon to just you. It’s an unforgettable experience, as the large font covers your screen; “Victory Royale.”

It’s no mistake that for several years, Fortnite has been one of the most influential games of its time. Allowing itself several large collaborations with brands such as Disney and Lego, and celebrities such as Travis Scott and Dwayne Johnson.

However, in the midst of what appears to be a financial crisis, Epic Games decided to make one of the best moves they could at such a crucial time.

Although it could be viewed as insignificant to other people not well-versed in the Fortnite Battle Royale universe, millions of players will tell you that they’ve been anticipating this moment for many years. Bringing back an “OG” map to the game mode.

But was this decision properly warranted? Is it going to have its own consequences for the company once the month-long season concludes?

The game is often centered around the Fortnite Battle-Pass, first introduced during Fortnite season two.

As the seasons of Fortnite Battle-Passes progressed, often being around three months each, giving players plenty of time to not only complete the pass, but also enjoy the current season of the game for the entire duration.

This included Fortnite’s live events. It was one of the first video games ever to introduce live events for the entire player base to witness at the same time and soon developed a complex lore for the players who followed closely.

Season one soon turned to Season X, which eventually turned into Chapter 2, Season One. A brand new map, which was a breath of fresh air for a lot of people.

Although Epic Games was making millions — if not billions of dollars — from Fortnite, the older fans of the game started to leave in hoards as new brand deals took over the simple game they once loved.

A well-thought-out cosmetic skin soon turned into Darth Vadar or Doctor Strange, and the “Item Shop,” a place where players could spend their V-Bucks (Fortnite’s in-game currency), soon turned into what many considered an “Amazon Homepage.”

Fortnite was falling into a dark period just a few months ago. However, if you were to take a look at their numbers now, you would see millions of concurrent players.

The introduction — or re-introduction of “Season OG,” brought millions back, especially as American students went onto their Thanksgiving breaks.

For a month, old fans of the game could come back and re-ignite the memories they once made nearly four years ago. But therein lies the problem.

For a single month, Epic Games would revert back to the original game, in comparison to the regular three to four-month seasons.

December 2nd, 2023 AE. (After Eminem)

Saturday, December 2nd, 2023 saw one of the largest surges of Fortnite players the company has ever seen.

I also had problems getting into the game with several hour-long wait times for players across the world.

The record-long 15-minute live event featured all of the new changes coming up for the upcoming Chapter Five. And with some of the most elaborate collaborations, featuring a brand new LEGO mode, racing mode, and festival mode.

Each; of course, has its own individual additions to the game. Personally, I do like all of the changes, and adding these new ways to play Fortnite, apart from Battle Royale content, gives players new opportunities to play their own version of Fortnite.

After I came back to the game, those few weeks ago, and the past times I had before, I never came back to get those long sought-after “Victory Royales.” I always came back because of nostalgia.

I went through my locker, looking at all of the memories I had with my old cosmetics. All of the time spent playing over the CoronaVirus Pandemic and during elementary school.

Fortnite might seem overly complicated now for the old fans, although you probably found joy in the game when it was a simple game about getting a small crown, now it’s expanded to a much larger audience.

Nostalgia is a feeling that often fuels our emotions towards something. We fear missing out on the things that used to make us happy in the past. Thinking that the thing we miss has changed so much that we can no longer find the joy we used to in it.

This can be seen further than just Fortnite, or any other silly games.

“You miss how you felt back when you were watching those videos[…] but now you’re growing up and now you have responsibilities,” JackSepticEye, YouTuber, said.

Growing up, growing further away from what you thought was comfortable for you. Whether it be old videos of YouTubers you no longer watch, or a silly game called Fortnite.

The content never truly changes, what changes is how you perceive it as you get older.

“What’s also important is that you guys aren’t kids anymore,” DanTDM, a YouTuber, said.

Simply put, no, Fortnite is not ruining their game by allowing new generations of people to grow up on the Fortnite Festival or LEGO.

LEGO Star Wars, Guitar Hero, or Mario Kart, all of these games that our generation, and the generations before used to play, now coming to a new generation of kids.

Here’s a lesson in nostalgia: cherish the memories, the games you grew up on, the videos you watched, and the Victory Royales you got, while you can; you’re making stories for the generations to come.