Was Fortnite originally supposed to be a horror game? The origins of world's most popular BR game

In just a few years, Fortnite has become one of the biggest and most played battle royale games on the planet. The colorful art style and the goofy-looking cartoony characters have become a standout game feature.

To top it all off, Epic Games even constructed their storyline around the game, giving it a distinctive appeal. The loop concept that wipes the memory of all the inhabitants on the island and is what keeps them there has worked brilliantly for the developers and players who love to uncover more lore secrets.

However, the game was not always supposed to be this way. During the early stages of the game's development cycle, the developers had something completely different in mind.

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The origin story of Fortnite

Fortnite is currently nothing less than a pop culture phenomenon thanks to numerous in-game collabs, events among other things. But if Epic Games is to be believed, Fortnite was supposed to be a horror game.

As per Pete Ellis, the game's art director, the earliest concept for the game was a “terrifying, over the top, scary experience.” However, the art team wanted to have a more family-friendly gameplay style, leading to what we know the game now as. But the developers didn't scrape the entire horror thing off.

While the art style was tweaked to mirror the gameplay, some initial horror concepts still survive. The Husk Monsters are ugly, horrific-looking zombies designed to look hideous, with their faces pulled back to display their skulls but were later converted into creatures that look similar to Pop Cap’s zombies. This is the last link that the game has to the horrifying experience that Pete Ellis had initially thought about.

A Fortnite-style horror game would have been a great idea and caught on with the community. While this didn't turn into a reality, the game still takes a lot of inspiration from its old roots.

The annual Halloween event is an excellent time for Epic to show off its art style and give players a chance to experience a whole new side of the game.