Fortnite is played by millions of players spanning across all ages from around the globe. These players sometimes come from remote countries where they do not have access to better internet or resources, but still they celebrate the spirit of gaming.

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However, one of the major hubs of Fortnite players is in Europe and countries like Ukraine has a massive number of active player base who play the game everyday. But when the invasion of Russian forces took place early this year, the internet facilities in the country were shut down and kids were forced to migrate to another nations.

That is when Epic Games stepped in to provide humanitarian relief to the country’s citizens as it donated all of its proceeds through in-game purchases, almost during all of Chapter 3 Season 1. They were successful in raising more than $36 Million for organizations providing relief in Ukraine, with the help of Fortnite’s player base.

Epic Games Employee pin shows support for Ukraine

The employee pin Epic games gave away to its employees who worked on Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2, represented colors of the national flag of Ukraine. This comes in as a gesture of thanks to everyone who were in the process of progressing the game during the ongoing war in the country against Russia.

Moreover, this is not the first time Epic has paid tribute to Ukraine publicly like this. In Chapter 3 Season 2, Epic added two more crates near Condo Canyon, that still exist in-game, which represents the vibrant Blue and Yellow color of the Ukrainian Flag. This shows the strong bond the company shares with the country and the player base that resides within.

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However, with the war almost coming to a standstill now, Epic has plans to host a future tournament exclusive to Ukrainian players as they were unable to be a part of FNCS in this chapter. Although this is just a rumor, more information will arrive in the coming weeks as Chapter 3 Season 3 is just getting started with newer updates.

In 2019, Epic Games dove headfirst into Fortnite’s competitive Esports scene. Following a $100 million prize pool for the year 2018, Epic put up another $100 million in 2019. This insane amount of prize money dwarfed other competitive games in comparison.

2019 was also the year of Fortnite’s first-ever World Cup. The Fortnite World Cup took place from July 26 – 28 in New York City and boasted $30 million in total prizes. One hundred of the best solo players from around the world, and 50 duo teams, competed for a massive amount of money.

Epic Games falls short of revenue goals

While the amount of money up for grabs seems quite impressive, it didn’t net Epic Games with the desired results. During the trial of Epic Games vs Apple, documents were shared that outlined the revenues that Fortnite generated from 2018 to 2019. Epic Games planned to make $4.59 billion during the 2018-2019 fiscal year but actually earned $4.2 billion instead.

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The documents stated that Epic Games had anticipated making $154 million more from Fortnite’s Esports scene than it was actually able to generate. While Epic Games is raking in billions of dollars a year, it’s unlikely that it will pour money into something that isn’t as profitable.

This major discrepancy in earnings could explain why there hasn’t been another Fortnite World Cup. After $100 million was awarded in 2019, 2020 saw a massive dip in prize money. The pool for the entire year was only $17 million.

Epic Games stated at the beginning of this year that it would be pledging $20 million in prize money for Fortnite’s 2021 competitive scene. This is $10 million less than the total prize pool for the Fortnite World Cup. Epic also stated that it had no plans for an in-person World Cup event this year.

The lack of prize money has been apparent over the past year as competitive Fortnite players have taken to social media to express their concerns. In 2019, the FNCS qualifier prize pool was $1 million a week for three months. Now, players are competing for a $3 million prize pool over the course of an entire season of FNCS.

• Read More: Epic Games announce 2021 Trios FNCS & cancel World Cup

The Fortnite World Cup may return in some capacity, but players shouldn’t expect a massive $30 million prize pool. The worldwide pandemic could be to blame for the lack of in-person tournaments, but that doesn’t mean it’s the sole reason there haven’t been any. Epic Games might be focusing on the more profitable aspects of Fortnite to endure the game’s longevity.

After a rather uneventful year for Fortnite’s competitive scene in 2020, it’s no surprise that the top 20 highest-earning players look very similar to those of 2019. With no 2020 World Cup or millions of dollars worth of prize money up for grabs, there wasn’t a lot that could have affected the current standings.

2020 did see a lot of former Fortnite enthusiasts seemingly leave Fortnite for the foreseeable future. Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was at one time the most popular Fortnite streamer but has since left the game for other competitive shooters.

Instead, the same top-ranking competitive players such as Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf and Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson have maintained their places on the 20 top highest-earning Fortnite players.

When looking at a player’s earnings this list will only gauge players on how much they have earned by playing Fortnite. While Bugha and other players have earned money through brand deals, merch sales, and partnerships, earnings are defined as what a player has won strictly by playing competitive Fortnite.

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It’s also important to note that, while over half of the top 20 have earned over $1 million, none of the players have earned more than $300,000 since September 23, 2019. Others have earned as little as $20,000 over the past year and a half.

This chart was last updated on April 26, 2021.

When comparing the list above to the highest-earning Fortnite players in 2019, the same 20 players are still on the list. Some players have moved up the ranks while others have maintained their position on the list. The biggest reason there haven’t been any new names added to the list is because of the lack of high-paying competitive events.

A large number of competitive Fortnite events were held in 2018 and 2019 including the Fall Skirmish Series, World Cup Finals, and Winter Royale. These events had multi-million dollar prize pools that rewarded first, second, and third-place winners with large cash prizes.

• READ MORE: Fortnite Season 6 FNCS: dates, prize pool, format & more

However, due to COVID-19’s impact on the world in 2020, Epic Games was unable to hold similar events. Competitive Fortnite took a back seat during the pandemic while crossover events and story-driven seasons kept players entertained.

With the pandemic still ensuing, Epic Games has stated it has no plans to conduct in-person tournaments throughout the course of 2021. FNCS tournaments are still taking place, but players won’t see the return of massive prize pools anytime soon.

Fortnite Season 6 is here, and a new season means a new FNCS is coming. Epic recently announced the tournament, prize pool, format, and everything else we needed to know.

Ahead, we’ll cover all of the information we have about the Season 6 FNCS. Make sure to check back, as we’ll be updating this post as we learn more.

Fortnite Season 6 FNCS schedule

The Fortnite Season 6 FNCS will kick off on April 22 and 23, depending on your region. The three qualifying weeks will then take place every weekend after that. We’ll have one bye week before the Semi-Finals and Reboot Round – both taking place the same weekend.

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The finals will take place on May 29 and 30 for all regions except Middle East, which will happen on the 28-29. Here’s a quick breakdown of the full schedule (subject to change)

• Qualifier 1: Middle East – April 22-24. All other regions – April 23-25
• Qualifier 2: Middle East – April 29-May 1. All other regions – April 30-May 2
• Qualifier 3: Middle East – May 6-8. All other regions – May 7-9
• Bye Week: May 13-16
• Semi-Finals: Middle East – May 21. All other regions – May 22
• Reboot Round: Middle East – May 22. All other regions – May 23
• Finals: Middle East May 28-29. All other regions – May 29-30

FNCS Format & prize pool

The Season 6 FNCS is a trios tournament, which is the standard format for FNCS competitions.

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The top three teams from each qualifier will automatically move onto the Finals. The rest of the teams will earn Series points for each week, eventually culminating in the Semi-Finals and Reboot Round. The top-three teams in the Season 5 FNCS will automatically qualify for the Season 6 Finals.

Here’s a breakdown of the total prize pool for each region:

• Europe: $1,350,000
• NA-East: $690,000
• NA-West: $300,000
• Brazil: $300,000
• Asia: $150,000
• Middle East: $120,000
• Oceania: $90,000

Scoring

The scoring system got a few adjustments in Season 6. Most notably, Epic are rewarding teams who make it past the Storm Surge placement threshold, as this is a more difficult mark to hit.

Here’s how points will be rewarded in the Season 6 FNCS:

• Victory Royale: 30
• 2nd: 26
• 3rd: 24
• 4th: 22
• 5th: 21
• 6th: 20
• 7th: 19
• 8th: 18
• 9th: 17
• 10th: 16
• 11th: 14
• 12th: 13
• 13th: 12
• 14th: 11
• 15th: 10
• 16th: 9
• 17th: 8
• 18th-24th: 5
• Each Elimination: 2 Points

Twitch Drops

We don’t have any official news of Twitch drops for the Season 6 FNCS just yet, but we expect to see them when the event begins. In past seasons, Fortnite pros, streamers, and the official broadcast allowed players to earn in-game cosmetics by watching their perspective.

We’ll update you if any more news or changes come to the Season 6 FNCS. Until then, make sure to follow us on Twitter @FortniteINTEL so you don’t miss any of the latest Fortnite news.

Image Credit: Epic Games

Zayt will be a familiar name to anyone who has been in the Fortnite scene since the beginning. The NRG Fortnite pro has always been a staple of the pro community. During his time in the game, he’s always been one of the best players in the world.

In fact, Zayt has earned over 1.2 million dollars playing Fortnite over the last three years, with 12 tournament wins under his belt.

On April 17, 2021, Zayt announced his retirement on his stream during a Q&A. He later took to Twitter, saying that he will host viewing parties for competitive Fortnite events. The rest of the time, he’ll “go live and do an unranked to radiant on Valorant.”

If the news of Zayt retiring from Fortnite sounds familiar, that’s because he announced his retirement about three months ago before returning to the game three weeks later.

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NRG, Zayts organization for the bulk of his pro Fortnite career, poked fun at this fact with a meme. They posted the same “Thank you, Zayt” graphic with the GTA San Andreas, “Oh sh*t, here we go again.”

It will be interesting to see exactly what Zayt does next. The pro scrimmages he once organized and ran were banned by Epic Games, but he clearly intends to stay in the Fortnite scene to some degree.

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Zayt, at 21, is somewhat of an elder statesman in Fortnite – a game that has a professional community dominated by kids in their mid-teens. He could have a bright future ahead of him in Valorant, where he would be on the younger side of the pro scene; should he decide to go pro.

Organizations continue to allocate resources to competitive Fortnite as that side of the games grows in popularity.

TSM, who have taken a back seat in recent months, just put their hat back into the ring by signing Fortnite controller pro Co1azo.

Co1azo joins Ops and Zexrow on the TSM professional Fortnite roster and EmadGG on the streaming side. The organization has formerly boasted top names like Khanada, Reverse2k, Saf, Commandment, and Mackwood.

Although TSM seemed to be taking a step back from Fortnite, the signing of Co1azo – a former member of Team Kungarna – likely marks a return to the game.

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We wouldn’t be surprised to see TSM scoop-up another Tier 1 Fortnite pro ahead of the Season 6 FNCS.

We’ll keep you posted with other major Fortnite signings as they come. We don’t think this will be the last we see from TSM this competitive Fortnite season.

We’re now into Fortnite Season 6, which means it’s the start of a new competitive season. Epic decided to carry-over Arena points from Season 5, which means more players will have the opportunity to make it to Champion’s League and compete in official tournaments.

Of course, Epic are planning another open FNCS competition in Season 6, but that’s not the only thing we can expect in Fortnite esports. As the rumors from last season suggested, we’ll see an additional major tournament this year: the FNCS All-Star Showdown

FNCS All-Star Showdown

The FNCS All-Star Showdown will be a mid-year event, which will take place from June 23-26. With Season 6 scheduled to end on June 8, that means that the All-Star event will take place in Season 7.

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As the name suggests, the All-Star Showdown will be an invitational tournament

According to the official posting, “Players will compete in skills challenges, a non-Battle Royale team-based competition, and a Solo tournament.” The prize pool for the whole event will be $3,000,000.

Invitations will be based on consistent placement in recent FNCS events along with top-ranks from Seasons 5 and 6 FNCS tournaments.

That’s all we know about the event right now, but Epic will release more information as the year progresses. We’ll keep you posted when they do.

Image Credit: Epic Games

The Fortnite Season 5 FNCS is upon us. Here’s how to watch, earn Twitch Drops, and everything else you need to know.

Fans and players in the competitive Fortnite scene were ecstatic to learn that Epic have doubled-down on their commitment to the professional and competitive side of the game.

This year, Epic have decided to merge the console and PC player pools to create a larger stage and prize pool for everyone involved. A lot of console players didn’t like this change, but the PC platform has always been considered the “big leagues” of the game. This is where Epic dedicate their broadcast resources, so it’s not surprising to see them increase the prize pool and raise the stakes.

Ahead, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the event, including the format, schedule, and how to earn Twitch Drops as a viewer.

Format & Scoring

The Season 5 FNCS format will be Trios, which is the new standard Fortnite competitive mode for FNCS competitions. We should see all FNCS competitions follow this format going forward.

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We haven’t seen the official format posted by Epic at the time of writing. Since they’re going out of their way to make a standard FNCS competition, it’s safe to assume that they’ll be using the same format as Season 4. We’ll update this post if they make any changes to the point system.

Placement

• Victory Royale: 25 Points
• 2nd: 20 Points
• 3rd: 16 Points
• 4th: 14 Points
• 5th: 13 Points
• 6th: 12 Points
• 7th: 11 Points
• 8th: 10 Points
• 9th: 9 Points
• 10th: 8 Points
• 11th: 7 Points
• 12th: 6 Points
• 13th: 5 Points
• 14th 4 Points
• 15th: 3 Points
• 16th: 2 Points
• 17th: 1 Point

Each Elimination: 1 Point

Programming Schedule

Instead of weekly broadcasts, Epic will be focusing on “the most pivotal stages of competition.” These will include the final week of Qualifiers on February 7, February 14, and February 21, along with the Semi-Finals and Finals.

The broadcasts for EU and NA will follow this schedule:

EU

• 1:00pm – Broadcast begins
• 1:15pm – Live EU coverage
• 4:30pm – Approximate end

NA

• 5:00pm – Broadcast begins
• 5:15pm – Live NAE coverage
• 8:30pm – Break
• 9:15pm – Live NAW coverage
• 12:30am – Approximate end

Epic will also be broadcasting Brazil and Australian FNCS on different Twitch channels, along with French and German coverage of the EU FNCS. You can find those channels here.

Twitch Drops

As usual, Epic will be offering Twitch Drops to Forntite players who watch the FNCS on Twitch. These include the typical rewards, including a back bling, emoticon, spray, and loading screen.

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To receive the Twitch Drops, you need to link your Twitch and Epic Games account. All official broadcasts will have Twitch Drops enabled, as will the streams of most competitors or those hosting viewing parties.

We’ll keep you posted with all of the updates to the Season 5 FNCS, including the qualified participants, winners in each region, and any drama that is sure to come out of the event.

Image Credit: Epic Games

One of the original competitive Fortnite greats, Zayt, has announced his retirement from competitive Fortnite.

In a landscape where Fortnite pros are outspoken about the dwindling tournament prize pools and lack of incentive to “grind” Fortnite, one of the most iconic pro player in the scene, Williams “Zayt” Aubin, has announced his retirement from competitive Fortnite.

“Before you guys freak out, I’m not leaving NRG, I’m staying in the Fortnite scene,” Zayt told his fans. “But … I’m gonna stop competing in Fortnite. I’m gonna stop playing tournaments, I’m gonna stop playing scrims.”

Zayt went on to say that he’ll be using his Fortnite knowledge to coach other players and analyze professional gameplay. He even used the phrase, “content creator,” which he has seemed to avoid in the past.

Zayt is one of the only players who has stuck with competitive Fortnite since the early days. He and Saf were one of the only Duos to make it through the World Cup era and remain together through all of the FNCS tournaments.

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Saf commemorated the departure of his longtime duo partner with a collage on Twitter. “Gonna miss you, this one hits hard,” he wrote. “Thanks for everything. Love u bro @zayt.”

World Cup champion, Bugha, gave his thoughts on Zayt’s departure as well. The former related Zayt’s retirement to the current state of competitive Fortnite. Zayt retweeted the post, suggesting that he may agree with the sentiment.

“Seeing one of the best fortnite players quit the game is pretty weird,” Bugha wrote. “If changes aren’t made soon many others will most likely follow down the same path. Best of luck to your future @zayt.”

While we’re disappointed to see a monolith of competitive Fortnite leave the game, he isn’t leaving the scene. We’re excited to see what’s next for Zayt and which up-and-coming pros he’ll help lead to victory.

The DreamHack Open Fortnite tournament series is returning for 2021, with the first event kicking off in January.

A new year means a new Fortnite competition to begin 2021. The DreamHack Open ft. Fortnite returns for January with another $250,000 up for grabs.

Sign-ups for the DreamHack Open begin this Wednesday, January 13. Here’s everything you need to know to compete in or watch the first competitive Fortnite event of 2021.

DreamHack January tournament details

Late last year, DreamHack switched their standard Fortnite tournament format from Solos to Duos, which most players and fans tend to prefer.

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Like all of the DreamHack Fortnite events, the tournament will begin with open qualifiers, with 250 teams from each heat moving onto the semifinals. 50 duo teams then advance to the Grand Finals.

Point System

The DreamHack point system has become one of the favorites among Fortnite pros. These are high-scoring affairs, which means the point system rewards the most consistent performers

• 1st – 55
• 2nd – 49
• 3rd – 46
• 4th – 43
• 5th – 40
• …
• 25th – 2
• Eliminations – 5 points each

Schedule

Unlike past tournaments, the three regions (NA-West, East, and EU) will all compete the same week. Here are the dates and times for each region of the January DreamHack Open event:

NA-West (PST)

Heat #1
Fri, Jan 22, 6PM-9PM

Heat #2
Sat, Jan 30, 2PM-5PM

Semi-finals
Sat, Jan 30, 6PM-9PM

Grand finals
Sun, Jan 31, 2PM-8PM

NA-East (EST)

Heat #1
Fri Jan 22, 6PM-9PM

Heat #2
Sat Jan 23, 2PM-5PM

Semi-finals
Sat Jan 23, 6PM-9PM

Grand finals
Sun Jan 24, 2PM-8PM

Europe (CET)

Heat #1
Fri Jan 22, 6PM-9PM

Heat #2
Sat Jan 23, 2PM-5PM

Semi-finals
Sat Jan 23, 6PM-9PM

Grand finals
Sun Jan 24, 2PM-8PM

You can watch all of the action play out on the official DreamHack Fortnite Twitch channel, or watch the POV of any of the competitors.

This is sure to be another great Fortnite competition to kick-off 2021. We’ll keep you posted with any additional news.