The Brand Bar
- Aug 2, 2019
- 2 min read

Fortnite taking us into the Metaverse

As Winter sets in the occasional Saturday where the weather rolls in with full fury to disrupt normal weekend activities. Gives us more time and an even better excuse to hit the sticks and extended time on the station with Fortnite the game of choice. With all the hype last week around the 16-year-old Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf who took home $3 million at the Fortnite World Cup. How hard can it be to become a Fortnite World Champion and an instant Millionaire? Did you know the win made him more money than Tiger Woods took home from the Masters.

One of the great additions to the gaming landscape has been Fortnite and the following around the world is insane to say the least.

At the start of the year some of our Brand Bar group visiting Melbourne, being fortunate enough to capture tickets for the Australian Open final. Apart from the obvious discussion about Roger, Rafa and Novak, there was also a first-hand experience in seeing the Fortnite event in Margaret Court Arena.

The mention of Fortnite, enthusiasm in the eyes of those who play or watch, others swaying their arms and hips with bent knees instinctively mimicking the Floss Dance.

Pop culture seems to move these days at hyperspeed, beyond logical comprehension as memories of when I made early attempts at the dance seem so long ago.

As the cruise extended into the lazy part of a glorious afternoon, the insta stories and snapchat posts surged. The cyber waves creating a connection to friends onshore who were enjoying the sounds and grooves at Ultra Australia Festival in Parramatta Park.

The tunes on the boat add to the party mood, Marshmello “Happier” flowing from the speakers. All start singing, the dance begins to fill:

Lately, I've been, I've been thinking

I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier

A moment of accidental connection as apparently Marshmello had just hit the Ultra stage 😊

Using the very recent Australian Open as a time stamp with Fortnite crossing over into sport mainstream, soon after being pushed even further as Marshmello introduced us to the Metaverse.

Metaverse = a collective virtual shared space created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds.

For 10 minutes, Marshmello played the first ever Fortnite Concert, Live at Pleasant Park, to an estimated audience of more than 10 million concurrent viewers which is still trending on YouTube with the views at 28M+.

Are we seeing things change as never, ever known before?

Yes indeed. The power of brand recognisable and forceful where never been before.

And then, yet again out of nowhere Apex Legends explodes with more than 2 million concurrent players during the first weekend of release. A deeper look at this next time.

For now, back to the party. A lot more winding down to do on a beautiful day with good friends, tasty food, delicious wine and soothing waves.