Fortnite OG Breaks Its All-Time Player Records At Launch

Epic Games dropped a blast from the past last week, as the month-long Fortnite OG season--which brings back the game's original island arena from 2018--kicked off on November 3. The decision has already proven wildly popular, as the company has reported all-time records for both unique user counts and the number of hours played in the first 24 hours of the new season.

Over 44.7 million users logged into Fortnite during the first day of Fortnite OG, which according to Epic marks the game's most popular single day in its five-year history. Those player accounted for a combined 102 million hours of playing time, which is another all-time record.

Circana industry analyst Mat Piscatella added some more impressive context to this feat on his X account. He revealed that, according to Circana's Player Engagement Tracker, "38% of all active Xbox players on November 3rd played Fortnite that day, while 33% of all active PlayStation players did the same." According to Piscatella, both of these are the highest percentages for Fortnite since tracking began in June 2020.

Piscatella also said that those active Xbox players averaged 195 minutes of playtime per player in Fortnite on November 3 alone, with PlayStation players averaging 204 minutes during the same 24-hour period.

Fortnite OG sends the battle royale back to its origins, with weapons, locations, and more from Fortnite's first chapter. Each week of the season will see the island change, with each shift referencing other seasons from Fortnite's past, but it's yet to be revealed how this trip back in time will affect the overall Fortnite story.

Fortnite is available to download now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile devices. The Fortnite OG season is scheduled to run until December 2.