SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT
SUBSCRIBE
SIGN IN
GIVE PEACE A CHANCE —
Fortnite’s “Party Royale” mode ditches the guns, asks players to “chill”
Epic leans into Fortnite’s role as less a shooter, more a gathering place.
KYLE ORLAND - 4/29/2020, 11:50 PM
The Papaya map for <em>Fortnite</em>'s "Party Royale" mode features apparent icons for racing, gliding, and a soccer match.
Enlarge / The Papaya map for Fortnite's "Party Royale" mode features apparent icons for racing, gliding, and a soccer match.
@VastBlastt & @FNBRHQ / Twitter
46
WITH 37 POSTERS PARTICIPATING, INCLUDING STORY AUTHOR
SHARE ON FACEBOOK
SHARE ON TWITTER
If you've played Fortnite with a group of teenagers recently, you probably quickly realized that, for many players, the game is less about killing fellow players and staying alive and more about just hanging out with friends in a shared 3D space. Epic is now explicitly leaning into this use case with a new "Party Royale" mode that asks players to "leave their weapons and [materials] behind."
That description comes from an email sent by Epic to a number of Fortnite content creators in recent days, inviting them to a test of the "experimental and evolving space" starting late Friday evening. Data miners ShiinaBR and Lucas7Yoshi have extracted an expanded description of the limited-time mode, which adds that players will be able to "hang out with friends, play games, perfect your skydive and more. The party’s just getting started!"
Dataminers have also extracted an overhead image of a new map for the Party Royale mode, apparently nicknamed "Papaya" in game files. Icons on that map, and variable names found in the code, strongly suggest mini-games based around gliding, races on foot and in vehicles, motorboat challenges, and even a soccer match, as well as "theater" and "hub" spaces for gatherings.
The introduction of a combat-free Fortnite mode comes just days after Epic announced that a record 27.7 million players attended an in-game Travis Scott concert, which featured a size-shifting version of the rapper performing amid an interstellar light show. That number includes 12.3 million concurrent players for the first of Scott's five in-game performances, up from the 10.7 million people who gathered to see EDM artist Marshmello perform in the game early last year.
Watching Travis Scott's Fortnite concert on video doesn't fully capture the experience of "being there" virtually.
An online shooter minus the shooting
FURTHER READING
Every game should copy Death Stranding’s “Very Easy Mode”
In recent years, single-player games from Assassin's Creed to Soma have been experimenting with "safe mode" options that remove (or severely reduce) the threats, allowing players to explore the game's environments at their leisure. Massively multiplayer RPGs have also long featured combat-free areas for players who want to focus more on socializing and roleplaying with friends.
But Fortnite stands out for being the first major online shooter we're aware of to experiment with completely removing the shooting from a major portion of the game. While some have attempted to play such games in "pacifist mode" in the past, those players have generally been treated as eccentrics or "conscientious objectors" rather than a core audience worth catering to.
It remains to be seen just how popular Fortnite's new combat-free option will be. But we could look back on this mode as a turning-point moment when Fortnite cemented its transition from mere online shooter to more generalized metaverse.
SPONSOR CONTENT
Ars Technicast special edition, part 3: Putting AI to work defending your stuff
READER COMMENTS
46
WITH 37 POSTERS PARTICIPATING, INCLUDING STORY AUTHOR
SHARE THIS STORY
SHARE ON FACEBOOK
SHARE ON TWITTER
SHARE ON REDDIT
KYLE ORLAND
Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in the Washington, DC area.
EMAIL kyle.orland@arstechnica.com // TWITTER @KyleOrl
Channel Ars Technica
How Homeworld Almost Got Lost in 3D Space
On this episode of War Stories, Ars Technica sits down with Rob Cunningham to revisit the groundbreaking 1999 3D real-time strategy game, Homeworld. When Rob and a group of friends founded Relic Entertainment, they set out to marry the gameplay of Command & Conquer with the feel of Battlestar Galactica - all in a full 3D environment. On top of the everpresent memory limitations of the day, the team needed to get creative in figuring out how to orient players when, in space, no direction is up.
How Homeworld Almost Got Lost in 3D Space
How Homeworld Almost Got Lost in 3D Space
30 People Play Super Mario Bros. Level 1-1
30 People Play Super Mario Bros. Level 1-1
How Prince of Persia Defeated Apple II's Memory Limitations
How Prince of Persia Defeated Apple II's Memory Limitations
How Crash Bandicoot Hacked The Original Playstation
How Crash Bandicoot Hacked The Original Playstation
Myst: The challenges of CD-ROM | War Stories
Myst: The challenges of CD-ROM | War Stories
Markiplier Reacts To His Top 1000 YouTube Comments
Markiplier Reacts To His Top 1000 YouTube Comments
How Mind Control Saved Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
How Mind Control Saved Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Bioware answers unsolved mysteries of the Mass Effect universe
Bioware answers unsolved mysteries of the Mass Effect universe
First Look: Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure
First Look: Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure
Civilization: It's good to take turns | War Stories
Civilization: It's good to take turns | War Stories
Dead Cells: How to avoid falling to your death (and resurrection) | War Stories
Dead Cells: How to avoid falling to your death (and resurrection) | War Stories
Warframe's Rebecca Ford reviews your characters
Warframe's Rebecca Ford reviews your characters
Subnautica: A world without guns | War Stories
Subnautica: A world without guns | War Stories
How Slay the Spire’s Original Interface Almost Killed the Game | War Stories
How Slay the Spire’s Original Interface Almost Killed the Game | War Stories
Amnesia: The Dark Descent - The horror facade | War Stories
Amnesia: The Dark Descent - The horror facade | War Stories
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun | War Stories
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun | War Stories
Blade Runner: Skinjobs, voxels, and future noir | War Stories
Blade Runner: Skinjobs, voxels, and future noir | War Stories
Dead Space: The Drag Tentacle | War Stories
Dead Space: The Drag Tentacle | War Stories
Aliens versus Predator: The 11th hour decision | War Stories
Aliens versus Predator: The 11th hour decision | War Stories
Star Control: Science non-fiction | War Stories
Star Control: Science non-fiction | War Stories
Ultima Online: The Virtual Ecology | War Stories
Ultima Online: The Virtual Ecology | War Stories
Blizzard answers unsolved mysteries of the Hearthstone universe
Blizzard answers unsolved mysteries of the Hearthstone universe
Unsolved mysteries of Warframe
Unsolved mysteries of Warframe
Unsolved mysteries of League of Legends
Unsolved mysteries of League of Legends
More videos
← PREVIOUS STORY
NEXT STORY →
Related Stories
Players paying up to $450 for disc-based copies of Fortnite
Despite complaints, Epic stands behind Fortnite’s “anyone can win” mechs
Fortnite Battle Royale will have the “same gameplay” on mobile devices [Updated]
Fortnite puts an end to random loot box purchases
Sponsored Stories
Powered by
This Amazon upgrade is even better than Prime
This Amazon upgrade is even better than Prime
Wikibuy
Unsold SUVs Going For Pennies On The Dollar! Research Best SUV Lease Deals
Unsold SUVs Going For Pennies On The Dollar! Research Best SUV Lease Deals
Yahoo! Search
Will You Be The First To Pass This Quiz On Sports History?
Will You Be The First To Pass This Quiz On Sports History?
PCH Quizzes
Early Signs of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Early Signs of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Multiple Sclerosis - Sponsored Listings
Neuropathy? Do This Immediately (Watch)
Neuropathy? Do This Immediately (Watch)
healthbenefits.vip
The Best Way To Stop A Barking Dog (It's Genius)
The Best Way To Stop A Barking Dog (It's Genius)
trendingscanner.com
Today on Ars
Good timing: Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone S2 trailer drops on Twilight Zone Day
Musk dares county officials to arrest him as he reopens Fremont factory
Republican Congress members upset banks dropping support for fossil fuels
When AI takes on Eurovision: Can a computer write a hit song?
Shuttered restaurants, bars, hotels speed up TV cord-cutting even more
May 11 Coronavirus roundup: Symptoms, therapies, and policy confusion
Gecko’s soft hairy toes reorient to help it stick to different types of surfaces
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 768G is 15-percent faster, supports Bluetooth LE Audio
