More Than 6 Million People Tuned In To Witness “The End” Of Fortnite

As if there was ever an inkling of doubt over the continued popularity of Epic Games’ Fortnite, recent events have proven that it’s bigger than perhaps ever before.

Just in case you’ve been on an internet blackout for the past 24 hours, the battle royale, which is due to begin its 11th season shortly, held a special event over the weekend as a means of bidding farewell to Season X: Out of Time. Typically, such limited-time occasions feature a scripted, spectacle-laden show meant to tease what lies ahead for Fortnite fans but not so, this time around. For several weeks now, Epic has been teasing a catastrophic conclusion to Season X with an event dubbed “The End.” Players promptly started speculating wildly in regards to whether the name was meant literally and, lo and behold, their worst fears were realized.

No, Fortnite hasn’t ceased to exist just yet, but any current attempts to log in are futile. The looping image of what appears to be a black hole is all you’ll be presented with and Epic has yet to confirm how long the downtime is intended to last. Probably just as well, too, as audiences who tuned-in to watch the mock demise are no doubt still recovering.

Speaking of which, more than 6 million of you saw the action unfold live across various platforms, as eSports journalist Rod Breslau confirms.

In fact, so high was user traffic on Twitch and Mixer at the height of Fortnite‘s erasure that both services experienced “extreme lag and downtime,” according to Breslau.

Whether or not Fortnite‘s latest achievement is officially the most-watched video game event to date remains to be seen, though not in recent memory can I recall any major ceremony as having attracted even a fraction of those numbers. Regardless, the shooter has yet again proven its position as a cultural icon and we can’t wait to see how Season 11 unfolds over the coming days. As always, stay tuned.