Last year, Epic Games sued Apple over a revenue dispute stemming from the iOS version of Fortnite. The in-person hearing for the case is currently underway, which is inadvertently unearthing unexpected details about the 100-player title’s future.
The court documents suggest that Fortnite’s developer plans to add an open-world game mode to the title, similar to Grand Theft Auto V’s Los Santos multiplayer map.
HYPEX, a credible Fortnite leaker, tweeted the news on May 3rd.
Epic will go beyond Battle Royale and will give us an open world simulation sandbox, this might be a replacement for Battle Lab in the next season(s).. Check my previous tweet for context!
— HYPEX (@HYPEX) May 3, 2021
According to Epic Games’ Stipulated Exhibits Documents, the map that i tweeted about a week ago is apparently for an Open World Simulation Sandbox Mode! pic.twitter.com/pS0uKbocTQ
— HYPEX (@HYPEX) May 3, 2021
The map depicted in the tweet resembles the more “primal” portion of the map. Furthermore, there appears to be some kind of a cabin where players might rest their character or save their progress, similar to GTAV.
Fans speculate that Fortnite aims to add a mode similar to Minecraft, in which players can freely explore an open world while modifying certain aspects of the landscape.
The new mode could also very well be an addition to the title’s player-versus-enemy (PvE), Save The World mode, which has seen its player base shrink since the rise of the 100-player battle royale game mode.
There is no question that an open-world game mode for Fortnite will attract a large number of new players who would not have previously played the title due to its highly competitive battle royale theme.
As per HYPEX’s datamining, Epic has already added the codes for the open-world sandbox into the backend, prompting that the mode will be released soon.
The ongoing Apple v. Epic Games lawsuit has also shed light on other previously unknown secrets about giants in the gaming industry, like the fact that you can’t play Fortnite on Microsoft’s xCloud because Epic wouldn’t allow it and Epic pays Sony for Fortnite cross-play compatibility on PlayStation consoles
Source: HYPEX
