Epic is contributing a $100 million prize pool to the first year of Fortnite eSports competitions.
That’s a big number that’s made all the more impressive by the fact that there’s still some doubt regarding whether or not Fortnite will succeed as an eSport. Fortnite is certainly popular – it’s arguably the most popular game in the world – but the Battle Royale genre has had some trouble finding a foothold in the world of eSports. Simply put, it’s not easy to get 100 professional players in the same room to compete at the same time while casters and cameras easily relay the action.
There are plenty of reasons to believe that Fortnite will break that trend, though. First off, that massive $100 million prize pool will surely attract some of the best Fortnite players and teams in the world. There are already Fortnite teams emerging across the globe and the best Fortnite players are beginning to distinguish themselves from the pack. Somewhere near the top of that list is popular streamer Ninja who has already distinguished himself at several Fortnite tournaments. Of course, he might end up taking a bit of a pay cut if he focuses too much on competitive Fortnite play.
Epic also probably isn’t sweating the $100 million contribution considering that Fortnite is reportedly earning well over $100 million every month. Expect that number to grow if Fortnite‘s eSports scene explodes.
At present, there’s no word on how the money will be divided amongst the unknown number of competitions that will make up the upcoming season of Fortnite competitive play. Still, it’s safe to expect that there are many big money Fortnite tournaments on the way…