‘Fortnite’ hosts first live concert experience for players

Marking a new step for live music performances, Fortnite hosted its first concert at Pleasant Park Saturday. The catch here is that Pleasant Park isn’t a new venue that Epic Games, Fortnite’s developer, rented out. It’s a location in the game’s battle royale map.

Players who logged in at 2 p.m. ET Saturday were given only one competitive game mode option, “Showtime” mode, which lead to a virtual set by masked EDM heavyweight Marshmello.

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The DJ played a 10-minute set with his avatar for 10 million players, completely in-game. Players could join lobbies of 100 to enjoy the set, dance-emoting all the way.

This is the latest of many events Fortnite holds to keep players involved. The concert comes fresh off a “rocket launch” to begin the fourth season of the popular shooter.

The in-game teasing of the concert went as far as altering the game’s map, showing a stage being set up bit by bit over the week preceding the show. Marshmello added Pleasant Park to his tour list, taking the immersion factor even further for fans and players.

Katie Kelly, program owner at AltspaceVR, tells Wired that this concert served as a form of validation for companies like hers looking to provide immersive virtual-reality experiences.

“I was talking to a woman last week, and she said, ‘My son is raving about how he can’t be anywhere else on Saturday because he has to be at his first concert…in Fortnite,’” Kelly says. “People keep saying people watched that show, but if you ask those kids, they’d probably say ‘I was there.’”

You can check out the full concert below.

What do you think of Fortnite’s in-game concert? Sound off in the comments below!

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