Is Fortnite dying? Twitch data reveals why the game is far from dead

The "is Fortnite dying" debate was recently reignited after Twitch released the viewership stats for 2020.

Over the years, "is Fortnite dying?" has become a generic clickbait title for YouTube's trending section. While on Twitter, players use "is Fortnite dying" to put forth their issues with Epic Games and the narrative it has planned for Fortnite.

The multi-billion-dollar game is far from dying though and Twitch recently confirmed the same by revealing their viewership statistics. All the events Epic hosted in 2020 has added a new dimension to the "is Fortnite dying" debate.

Twitch viewership stats reignites the “is Fortnite dying” debate

Image via Reddit

2020 was an exceedingly successful year for Epic Games and Fortnite. Events featuring Travis Scott, J Balvin, The Avengers, and Galactus ensured that new players will join the game. However, several kept asking the following on social media "is Fortnite dying?"

The debate has been raging on since 2018 and popular streamers like Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, Ali "SypherPK" Hassan, and Ali "Myth" Kabbani have added their arguments to the debate.

While most of them mentioned that Fortnite is not dying anytime soon, their remarks did highlight some features affecting the game. For instance, Epic Games catering to new players through collaborations and live shows has made Fortnite quite an advertisement in the gaming world.

Esports Talk made a video regarding this subject where Jake Lucky highlighted some of these features. This is one of the reasons why players keep asking "is Fortnite dying?"

However, considering the recent statistical analysis of total viewership on Twitch, Fortnite looks to be alive more than ever. Records show that Fortnite is the second most-watched game on Twitch.

Streamers like Turner "Tfue" Tenney, Cody "Clix" Conrod, Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf, and David "TheGrefg" Cánovas Martínez are leading the race with Fortnite viewership on Twitch.

A casual look at the debate will not help players come to a definitive conclusion. Critics will have to assess Fortnite’s recent history to get a better insight into the game’s popularity worldwide.

In fact, Fortnite is becoming a global phenomenon as a platform for popular culture with each update.

Epic executives Tim Sweeney and Donald Mustard have hinted several times that Fortnite is more than just a game, and is far from dying.

Recently, they also mentioned that Fortnite Creative will get a major update where designers and programmers would have access to the Unreal Engine. This unprecedented change will establish a brilliant developer-gamer interaction system in Fortnite.

Furthermore, players will get to create and play on their self-designed maps. Gamers can also recreate older versions of the Fortnite maps, or something new entirely - the possibilities are endless.

Through various collaborations and new revolutionary updates, Epic Games have been laying the "is Fortnite dying" debate to rest. Despite their best efforts though, the debate has turned into a trending statement on the internet.

From the looks of it, 2021 is going to be a revolutionary year for Fortnite and Epic Games. As such, gamers can expect that there will be several more collaborations to follow with various live events.

Hopefully, Epic will usher in an era where Fortnite will turn into a platform for expression while maintaining the integral game mechanics.