Why is Fortnite called Fortnite? Game name meaning explained
It is one of the game's toughest conundrums
The word Fortnite has entered the lexicon of common vocabulary since the game was released back in 2017.
With a variety of modes including the ever-popular Battle Royale, which sees players use a variety of weapons to eliminate each other in an attempt to be the last standing, the game has become one of the biggest in the world.
On average, 230 million players were active between January and February this year, according to Beebom.
The game has also let fans watch concerts from a range of high-profile musicians including Metallica, Ariana Grande and Eminem.
Taylor Swift even has a song named Fortnight now, which features Post Malone, although she doesn’t talk about the trials and tribulations of surviving a bout on Battle Royale Island in that one.
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It is a straightforward and easy game to dive into, but one thing has continued to stump fans: why is it called 'Fortnite'? Read on for a full explanation.
What does the word 'Fortnite' mean?
The word 'Fortnite' comes from the merging of two words: fort and night. It is a play on the British word fortnight, which is used to describe a period of two weeks.
But that doesn’t explain just why the game was given that name. Read on to find out.
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Why is Fortnite called Fortnite? Game name explained
During the game’s early development, before it became the battle royale shooter that we know it as today, Fortnite was originally going to be a player versus environment (PvE) style experience.
Players were going to have to defend themselves against hordes of zombies that only emerged at night.
One of the ways in which they were going to do this was by building and subsequently hiding in their very own forts. Hence the use of 'fort' and 'night'.
To make the pun even sweeter, a variety of reports suggest that each game in Fortnite was going to take place over the course of two weeks (a fortnight).
Others have also speculated that the 'fort' part of the title also refers to the FORT statistics within the game itself.
When broken down, these four basic characteristics stand for fortitude, offence, resistance and tech. However, it is likely these elements were designed after the name had been coined.
Now that the conundrum has been solved, it’s time to get back to the shooting!
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