What’s the Deal with Fortnite?

If one was asked only a few years ago about their opinions on Fortnite, the online, battle-royale video game, that person would most likely respond in annoyance. Before the pandemic, Fortnite’s popularity was waning, thanks in part to the revival of games such as Minecraft, and the arrival of new games like Fall Guys. By comparison, the former titan seemed out of touch with its player base with the launch of the now-controversial Season X update. The changes that it brought to the table alienated both professional and casual players alike, as they both believed that the adjustments to the game’s competitive scene were unfair.
There was a glimmer of hope for the game’s return during the launch of Fortnite: Chapter 2, with the aforementioned addition causing the game to temporally reach a new record within Google’s search-optimization engine; however, this phenomenon seemed to be a flash in the pan, as the number of Google searches sank to new lows shortly thereafter. All of this would seemingly turn on its head, though, with the launch of Fortnite: Season OG, an update specifically tailored towards older players who had dropped the game after a myriad of changes had been introduced.
Player numbers reached all- time highs, with several millions of concurrent players, a statistical anomaly reminiscent of the traffic seen during the game’s cultural peak more than half-a-decade ago. But some have started to question the hype’s longevity, because of the nature of its origin. After all, the entirety of this update is based on the idea that older content is returning. What happens once the season ends? Will the developers decide to keep up the theming, or will they risk scrapping everything new for the sake of keeping up with the current update cycle?