If you have heard about the Norwich Fortnite Festival (or worse, attended), you know there was only one thing which was “epic” about it, and that was its failure. As it turns out, the festival organizers had no permission from Epic Games to put on the event at all. And now, Epic Games is taking legal action.
The Norwich Fortnite Festival Was a Disaster
In case you are not aware, the Norwich Fortnite Festival, a.k.a. “Fortnite Live,” was scheduled for February 16th and 17th at the Norfolk Showground Arena in Norwich. The organizers were Exciting Events, who apparently called it the “ultimate Fortnite Battle Royale,” and promised that it would include “crazy competitions, awesome activities … and much more.”
The organizers promoted the event months in advance. A single ticket cost £22, and a single wristband cost £20. In other words, the full charge was a whopping £42 a person.
The “ultimate Fortnite Battle Royale” turned out to be the ultimate disappointment. There were only a few activities and hardly any staff. The setting was dismal. It looked more like a school field day than a proper festival. Just how awful was it? Metro writes, “Families have hit out at a video game festival with ‘depressing’ attractions that left kids in tears and parents demanding refunds.”
The Norwich Fortnite Festival Event Organizers Never Had Epic’s Permission
The real kicker here is that this entire abysmal affair took place without any permission from Epic Games. Epic literally had zero to do with any of it. Exciting Events was acting entirely on their own. They used promotional content related to the game which they had no licensing for.
Epic told Eurogamer, “The quality of our player experience is incredibly important to us, whether it’s inside the game or at official public events like last year’s Fortnite Pro-Am. Epic Games was not in any way associated with the event that took place in Norwich and we’ve issued a claim against the organisers in the High Court of London.”
It is easy to see why Epic Games is so furious. Exciting Events not only dashed the expectations of Fortnite fans, but also embarrassed the entire franchise. Epic doesn’t want that to reflect negatively on them, and is taking swift action to strike back.
We’ll let you know what goes down with the lawsuit when there are more developments. Stay tuned for more Fortnite news.