Fortnite‘s latest event on the big screen in its Party Royale mode was apparently a big hit. According to the game’s maker, Epic, more than 8 million people tuned in to see its short film series, Short Nite, during the two-day event it held inside the game mode over the weekend.
https://twitter.com/FortniteGame/status/1364696698275119111
The selection of 13 short films played on an in-game screen that’s been used for a number of different tie-ins for the game in recent months as Fortnite expands its offerings well past the 100-player showdowns that first made it big. Epic called the turnout for Short Nite an “engagement record” for the highest-attended event in its Party Royale mode since it was introduced.
Thanks to our community and the amazing filmmakers, Short Nite popped off with over 8 million viewers last week!
Butter get to cleaning up all that popcorn. See you in Party Royale again soon
pic.twitter.com/BYW2KVbkow
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) February 24, 2021
According to Epic, Short Nite is the latest example of the game bringing its users different kinds of digital experiences, which in the past have included concerts, the debut of movie trailers and minigames. Everything from Star Wars to a J Balvin concert has showed up in Fortnite in recent months.
“Fortnite is at its core a social game, and that helps transcend traditional ‘gaming’ DNA,” an Epic spokesperson told Uproxx. “Once we realized the social impact of Fortnite, we began to design massively participatory events, and have grown them over time and in different categories.”
Though big brand partnerships have become the norm for Epic and Fortnite, they’ve been no stranger to holding important conversations in the game’s different modes, and this seems to prove that even film festivals fit in with the game’s enormous user base as well.