Last month, Epic Games
announced plans to fund Fortnite prize pools for competitive gaming during the 2018-2019 season. Today, the developer shared more details, announcing the
2019 Fortnite World Cup.
"We'll be supporting community-run events, online events, and major competitions all over the world," Epic said.
"Anyone can participate and anyone can win."
Epic will host official qualifiers across the world with the $100,000 in prize money split between
"many events at all different levels of competition." Fortnite World Cup Qualifiers will begin in Fall 2018 and culminate in the first
Fortnite World Cup in late 2019.
Fortnite World Cup will specifically focus on Solos and Duos, though Epic promises
"plenty of opportunities" for squad-based gameplay in competitions as well. Qualifying for the
World Cup is said to be based on merit, with Epic explicitly stating they will not be selling teams or franchises, and won't allow third-party leagues to do so either.
That's all for now, but rules, Player Code of Conduct, specifics about platforms and the Fall 2018 schedule are coming soon.
It's interesting that Epic would label this the
Fortnite World Cup as it seems to be just in time for the real World Cup in soccer. Additionally, Epic added a soccer stadium to the
Battle Royale map today. And World Cup-themed Outfits have been leaked from the most recent update. It's highly unlikely that the
2019 Fortnite World Cup will have anything to do with soccer, however, as it's probably just a play on the current events.