“Not only is Fortnite the new hangout spot, replacing the mall, Starbucks or just loitering in the city, it's become the coveted 'third place' for millions of people around the world” - Owen Williams

2018 was the year of Fortnite. Drake played streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. The game launched on iOS. And the Switch. And Android. It even partnered with the NFL. 🎮

Since the third-person shooter game officially debuted a year and a half ago, it has turned into a cultural phenomenon that now has over 200 million registered players.

But in the past week, we've read a lot less about the game itself but more about what the game has created — a communal “hangout” spot for players online.

In a nutshell, it's become a place where your friends are — and that sounds a lot like social media. 🤔

“Just speaking for our family, it's still clear to us that Fortnite needs tight rules in our house, but we've shifted to thinking about it less as a video game and more as we might think about a teen talking on the phone for hours.” - Ernie Tedeschi

Fortnite's success as a social network largely stems from that fact that it's really for anyone (even Drake) — it's free to play and available on every device.

This year, we also saw a few Fortnite-focused apps emerge specifically around community:

FortLeague is an iOS app that gives players rankings in the game 👀

Where Should We Drop decides where you and your squad should land on Fortnite 🙌

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