The Fortnite craze is not stopping anytime soon as reports are confirming that gamers are buying physical copies of the game at outrageous prices online.
A Commercial Success
Epic Games' multiplayer shooter continues to attract players with its free-to-play model, but it looks like fans still want to have something tangible. The title officially launched last year with a PVE mode called Save the World and was shortly followed by the popular Battle Royale game mode. Insiders claim that the developers opted to include the latter to cash in on the genre popularized by Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).
Unlike the competition that features realistic graphics, gameplay, and weapons, sources suggest that the cartoonish graphics, outlandish weapons, and building mechanics Fortnite gave it its charm. Currently, its PVE mode remains optional, while the PVP option is available as a free digital download. However, it looks like players are ready to fork out more than the original retail price to snag a physical copy.
A Reseller's Dream
Right now, searches on Amazon and eBay show multiple offers that range from $100 and up. Since Epic Games is no longer churning out physical copies of Fortnite, resellers are taking advantage of the situation. What makes this interesting is the fact that people already know the PVP game mode is available as a free download. Furthermore, the physical version only contains the original PVE and still requires users to download the add-on.
The items being offered online come in various states. Those that are sealed and in mint condition noticeably fetch top dollar, while others still command prices more than the original SRP. Reports noted that there are offers with missing documentation, damaged cases, and even the bare disc only. It goes to show that there is a strong demand wherein collectors just want to get their hands on a disc-based copy.
A Favorable Forecast
Even though there is a noticeable demand for the physical copies of Fortnite, Epic Games confirms that it does not have plans to physical re-release. It looks like the publisher will continue to focus their efforts on the digital version only. Reports reveal that the studio continues to earn a lot from in-game purchases, which are mostly cosmetic.
Meanwhile, fans will be glad to know that the Save the World content will be turned into a free-to-play option as well in the future. Therefore, it will be somewhat redundant for gamers to purchase a physical copy since all of the game modes are already available to download at no cost.
Fortnite is currently available for multiple platforms, such as the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, iOS, and recently, on the Nintendo Switch. The Android version of the shooter is reportedly coming out soon.
