Do you remember what gaming was like before Fortnite entered the gaming space? One of the biggest arguments was about whether a game should have loot boxes. Nowadays, players complain about battle passes, crossover events, and toxic battle royale communities. Some Call of Duty fans have traced back the game’s downfall to Fortnite and blame it for all the corporate greed that has infected the gaming space.
In a post by deepristine on Reddit, they said “Fortnite was the worst thing to happen to CoD and multiplayer games as a whole.” This post quickly gained attention from the community and many agree that “Fortnite swung open the door for the greedy.” Since then, we have seen many try to mimic the game’s success in a desperate attempt to live up to the battle royale giant.
One user commented on the post saying, “It gave the blueprint on how to maximize profits in gaming. Now you even see single-player games like Assassins Creed have season passes.” Others agree that more games have had this business model since Fortnite was released. On the other side of the argument, many sided with Fortnite and claimed that Call of Duty caused its own downfall.
In defense of Fortnite, one user stated, “Fortnite has done things for the community. They did the concerts and I’m sure other events. I actually wish CoD was more like them.” Another user commented, “CoD is a series predicated on greed. Activision took a critically acclaimed semi-popular game and decided to make it a yearly release.”
Whether you think that Call of Duty brought its own downfall or Fortnite is to blame, one thing is certain; everything changed when Fortnite entered the market. Perhaps Fortnite had a hand in changing what players expect out of a game now thanks to its many crossover events, business model, and community input.