Fortnite player count sets 2024 record as new season launches, despite lengthy downtime

Fortnite player count sets 2024 record as new season launches, despite lengthy downtime

Sophie Atkinson

Tech Journalist
    Fortnite player count sets 2024 record as new season launches, despite lengthy downtime | DeviceDaily.com
     

    Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 2, titled Myths and Mortals was released last Friday, on March 8 2024, and although it wasn’t a smooth intro to fans, a new record was hit soon after.

    In the early afternoon of the following day (March 9) a peak of 5,152,863 players was recorded via the count tracker Fortnite.gg. This marks the highest number of people in 2024 so far, with the last time the five million mark was reached being in December 2023.

    Although this is a win for Fortnite creators Epic Games, the team faced substantial issues in the lead-up and in the hours after the supposed ‘launch.’

    At 7:14 am, we reported the devs took to X to alert users of an ‘unexpected issue’ that resulted in the server being down. They apologized for ‘making everyone wait longer than usual to drop into Chapter 5 Season 2 of Battle Royale.’

    In the end, the servers were down for almost an entire day. At 9 pm CT on March 10, the servers were able to be opened and the queue began.

    Some players saw crashing issues and problems with texture on screen, but the majority of the problems were solved during the downtime.

    On the initial launch day, a blog post was published on the Fortnite website to share more details including the unlocked locations that fans can experience like Mount Olympus, Grim Gate, The Underworld, and Brawler’s Battleground.

    They go on to describe the new addition in detail, by saying “Pandora’s Box has been opened on the Fortnite Battle Royale Island, bringing Olympus to the battlefield.

    “Olympian legends – including Hades and the thunder god Zeus – now rule the island in otherworldly rage. To make matters worse, they’ve brought their powers and weapons with them. Use their mythological means against them in Chapter 5 Season 2: Myths & Mortals!”

    Reaction to launch of Chapter 5 Season 2

    In the hours of downtime, fans of Fortnite took to X and Reddit to ask the team to be quicker.

    One user said: ‘what am I gonna do with my life…’ while another said ‘ATLEAST 8 HOURS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I DONT WANNA BE RUDE BUT THIS IS SO UNHEARD OF WHAAAAAAAAT.’

    Featured Image: Epic Games

     

    The post Fortnite player count sets 2024 record as new season launches, despite lengthy downtime appeared first on ReadWrite.

    ReadWrite

    Sophie Atkinson

    Tech Journalist

    Sophie Atkinson is a UK-based journalist and content writer, as well as a founder of a content agency which focuses on storytelling through social media marketing. She kicked off her career with a Print Futures Award which champions young talent working in print, paper and publishing. Heading straight into a regional newsroom, after graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism, Sophie started by working for Reach PLC. Now, with five years experience in journalism and many more in content marketing, Sophie works as a freelance writer and marketer. Her areas of specialty span a wide range, including technology, business,…

    (16)