Fortnite confirms the return of the OG Experience in December, but this time it’s ‘here to stay’

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Veteran fans of Fortnite’s versatile Battle Royale mode have a treat in store: the original “OG” version of the game will be re-released next month.

In tweetdeveloper Epic Games has announced that the OG Fortnite will return on December 6, but this time it will be “permanent.”

This means players can relive Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode since its launch in September 2017, explore the OG map, collect OG loot, and relive the OG seasons.

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Epic said Fortnite OG and the original map will return at some point this year after relaunching in a limited-time format in November 2023. The enthusiasm for Fortnite OG was overwhelming and watched Fortnite enjoy its “biggest day” ever, with over 44.7 million players taking a trip back in time.

Last month, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney insisted the company was “financially sound” after a turbulent period in which 830 workers were laid off.

In September 2023, the North Carolina studio behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine suffered a significant series of layoffs as a result of which 830 employees lost their jobs, i.e. approximately 16% of the workforce.

Separately, Epic sold music services platform Bandcamp and spun off most of SuperAwesome, a kid-safe tech company. They were acquired by Epic Games in 2022 and 2020, respectively. Approximately 250 people left Epic as a result of the divestment.

Sweeney said at the time that the company was spending “significantly more money than we make investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a Metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators.”

He also pointed to a “major structural change in our economy” following Fortnite’s transition from the wildly popular and highly profitable battle royale game that funded its initial expansion to a lower-margin business driven by creator content and a significant share of revenue.

In a keynote speech at Unreal Fest 2024, Sweeney said Epic has “spent the last year rebuilding itself and being really solid on all fronts.”

He added: “I’m happy to now say that the company is in good financial shape and that Fortnite and the Epic Games Store have set new records for simultaneous collaboration and success.”

In this regard, Fortnite reached 110 million monthly lively users during the 2023 holiday season, which is an impressive milestone for a game that is already seven years senior. For comparison, in August 2018 Fortnite achieved 78.3 million MAU.

Epic rarely publicizes Fortnite player numbers, and when it does, it uses a variety of metrics that make direct comparisons challenging. Last year Season ANDwhich brought back the Season 5 map from Chapter 1, and with it classic areas like Tilted Towers, Pleasant Park, and Risky Reels, saw Fortnite reach a modern high of 44.7 million players in just one day. Epic previously said it had seen Fortnite parallel a player record of 15.3 million players during the end-of-season live event in December 2020, where players teamed up with Iron Man, Wolverine and other Marvel heroes defeat Galactus.

Wesley is the UK news editor at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wy100@proton.me.

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