With the rise of in-game events becoming more frequent and popular, we decided to take a look at some of the best in recent years.
In games such as Fortnite, fans deploy onto a map they already know and love, to watch as a spectacle happens worldwide for all players involved. It was time to tool down, a time for all to engage in an Epic Games first, live event. The first recorded Fortnite event, happened at the end of season 3 to kick start season 4. The event was responsible for destroying a popular location on the map, ‘Dusty Depot’. And for fans of the Fortnite universe, this event caused every event succeeding it – the rocket launch, the floating island and even the ice storm.
Why are in-game events becoming popular?
Living in a disconnected world full of local lockdowns, our first reasoning for in-game events succeeding is accessibility. The first rule of any online game is that it has to be accessible to the masses. Fans from all over the world can attend these online events, to experience a “was you there?” moment. We all remember where we were during specific events in our lifetimes, so why not adopt this for the ever-expanding digital generation. Game developers have readily accepted this challenge, and the sheer variety of easily accessible free online games is incredible.
What’s the future of in-game online events?
The music industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bands have been unable to perform concerts and gigs worldwide and unable to travel on tour, resulting in the industry as a whole losing over 50% of its revenue. Some in the music business have speculated that video games could play a role in the future of live music.
In 2019 we saw one of the biggest moments in gaming history. Epic Games saw 10.7 million people attend their live concert where artist Marshmello performed a live gig. It’s worth mentioning that the entire viewership watched this live concert – in-game. And since then, the footage has been viewed over 30 million times on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube.
Was this the biggest moment in in-game events history?
Later in 2019, Epic Games did it again when they partnered with Hip Hop star Travis Scott, to perform not one, but five different shows live within the Fortnite platform. Who would have thought that in 2019, we would have been watching a Travis Scott concert live from our battle stations? This virtual performance broke their last record and saw 12.3 million concurrent players participate. Mind-blowing stuff, right? Where else could millions of people experience the same spectacle right before their eyes?
Whilst this seems to be insane viewership, it’s likely in-game concerts will become growingly popular amongst artists and we are super excited to see how this grows in years to come.
What other examples of in-game events are there?
Halloween had been put on hold for most of us this year (2020), but fans of games such as Overwatch, Sea of Thieves, Pokémon Go and Call of Duty Warzone had been able to enjoy it none the less.
Ever had the absolute pants scared off you by a jump-box in Warzone? We have. These boxes disguised as ordinary supply crates placed around the Verdansk map lured you into a false sense of security on a night-time map. Only for a ghostly figure to pop out and ruin your underwear! There are tons of reaction videos on YouTube, which if you aren’t brave enough to take on Verdansk at night yourself, make for a funny afternoon of enjoying other thrill-seekers jump out of their skin.
Will in game events take centre stage over years to come? We at Beyond certainly hope so.
