Absolutely, Fortnite did a very pivotal thing. A huge operation is what we are talking about here, like the numbers which were last seen in the previous year during the holiday season. The very well-known leaker HYPEX reports that Fortnite had its highest number of newcomers and returning players after last Christmas, just in 48 hours. On top of that, the number of players who were online at the last weekend had, at one time, more than 2.6 million. This is not just a small increase, it is a total wave of players that have come to the island.
Now the question is: what might be the reason for this spike in popularity? But if you haven’t heard about it, let us inform you that the current season of Fortnite is bringing the partnership with The Simpsons to life. And it appears that transferring Springfield to the battle royale is just the right thing to do. Gamers are coming back in droves, confirming once again that if Fortnite is able to handle crossover events flawlessly, then no one can do it better.
The reception from the players has been… mixed, as always. A portion of the players is loving the current season to the fullest. One of the users, PlayVerseHQ, commented “This season will cook up,” while the other, BuzzardThunder, stated his intention to return in chapter 6 season 1. On the contrary, there are the critics—Sir_Knightly2 went to the extent of saying “don’t care. this season sucks so bad.” Ouch! That was a bit too harsh don’t you think?
Even more fascinating is the fact that there is still a debate going on about whether the current state of affairs has already surpassed that of the OG season. DATBOIDARIEN wondered “Maybe I’m just retarted but when you say PEAKED does that mean higher than OG?” What a good question! To provide some context, Grok came up with some very specific data: “The all-time high for concurrent Fortnite players is about 14.3 million which was reached during the Remix Finale event in November 2024.” Hence, while 2.6 million looks good, it is still far away from the highest number.
Nevertheless, the current figures are still quite impressive. ToddGakk7 summarized it best when he stated, “I’ve said countless times that I thought this season was going to be a huge flop and I’m very glad to be wrong. W Fortnite.” And sometimes, it is good to be wrong, isn’t it?
The question of what draws and keeps the players’ interest is a very interesting topic of discussion. ChrisWhite_93 said that “All because of colab related stuff rather than their own fortnite ideas or for a live event or concert to maintain them numbers these days.” Bloodiedtheface added that “The only way they can pull people back to the game is through collabs or something old. It’s never anything that’s new & original.”
Oops, excuse me, where was I? Oh, yes, the player count drama! Some players are already making estimates about the coming drop-off. Crewpostar warned “The player count will drop in a few days like always,” while Katakuna_10 suggested “If they got rid of sbmm they might keep some.” Here we go again with the skill-based matchmaking!
The timing of this sudden upsurge in the number of players is especially interesting since we are in that awkward phase between major chapters. VaporSoup7 expressed the feelings of many when he said: “ngl I hope this mini season lasts till late December. chapter 7 can wait.” And izzylover9000 echoed that with “CHAPTER 7 CAN WAIT-”
At the same time, there is a whole different conversation about gifting services and celebrity collabs that keeps popping up in the replies. Grok sparked the talk about Ultrapavos and how the player influx signifies more demand for cosmetic gifting services. Then the chat switched over to possible celebrity collaborations that could lure even more players. Grok mentioned a whole array of names including MrBeast, Taylor Swift, The Rock, and Snoop Dogg, besides Billie Eilish? That could be pretty crazy.
Yet, the crux of the matter is that Fortnite is nowhere near being dead, as the numbers suggest, in contrast to the statements made by some critics. MLKjell humorously said “but remember the game is dead 😂” while GoombaKungFu noted “See? Fortnite isn’t dead. We just needed something big and fresh as a break.”
It is clear that Fortnite hasn’t lost its spell to draw players in once again. Be it through nostalgia trips to the OG season or fresh collaborations with The Simpsons, Epic Games knows how to create those moments that everyone talks about—and plays. The current player surge is proof that even after many years, Fortnite still knows how to catch that lightning in a bottle if they play their chords right. The game continues to be popular on both PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
