Epic has laid out plans for its $100 million Fortnite Battle Royale competitive season just as the game surpasses more than 125 million players.
The developer aims to support community-organised and professional events all around the world, including those taking place online.
Road to the finals
Qualifiers for the Fortnite World Cup 2019 will begin in autumn 2018 and focus on solo and duo matches. Epic noted however there would be “plenty of opportunities to squad-up in competition too”.
Epic will be splitting its $100 million prize pool between a number of events.
The developer currently has no plans to sell teams or franchises, nor will it allow third-party leagues to do this. Rather, qualification for the World Cup will simply be based on player performance.
The move is in contrast to Blizzard’s highly successful Overwatch League which has formed a lucrative esports competition by selling team franchises.