Is Fortnite’s New Respawn System Meant to Compete Against Apex Legends?
With the release of Fortnite’s 8.30 update, Epic Games has introduced a major new mechanic to their highly-successful battle royale; the Fortnite Reboot Van. This van functions as a Fortnite respawn mechanic for downed players in a manner very reminiscent of the Apex Legends respawn system. In fact, the two systems are so similar that it seems very likely indeed that Epic Games is actively trying to compete and take away something which makes the two games different.
How Does the Fortnite Respawn System Compare to That of Apex Legends
After the 8.30 update, players won’t need to rely purely on skillful play or Ninja Fortnite Settings to try and claim a win (though they certainly can’t hurt); when they’re eliminated, they’ll now drop Fortnite Reboot Cards. If one of their teammates retrieves this card (which disappears after 90 seconds) and takes it to one of the Reboot Vans, the player can respawn. The design of this mechanic is obviously similar to that of Apex Legends. In that game, teammates can retrieve a banner from a crate left behind when an ally dies. If this banner is taken to a Respawn Beacon, they can return the player to life. To make the similarities even more obvious, players respawn without any weapons or loot in both games.
Since launch, Apex Legends has become the first major competitor to Fortnite in the battle royale market for many months; Fortnite has long since outstripped PUBG and other titles which were its direct competitors in its earlier days. While it remains to be seen if Apex can sustain its success, it managed to briefly overtake Fortnite on Twitch; a feat no other game has managed until now. As such, it’s clear that Epic Games are taking the competition very seriously.
The introduction of the new Fortnite respawn mechanic is a clear move against Apex. By introducing the mechanic, Epic Games removes one of the features which sets Apex apart from Fortnite. While Apex does still have other distinct features, such as the character roster, etc., the respawn mechanics were all but unique among battle royale titles. Clearly, Fortnite’s developers aren’t going to see Fortnite displaced from its throne without putting up a fight.