Fortnite Prize Pools Dropping Fast – Pros React

Fortnite
January 13, 2021
Jordan Ashley

Fortnite has been an esports mainstay for a few years now. The title launched into competitive gaming at an impressive speed. It made this work by throwing around huge prize pools and enticing as many players as possible to get involved. This couldn’t last though. In 2021, Fortnite prize pools are dropping fast. They are now significantly lower than previous years.

This has raised some questions about the long term validity of the game. On top of this, in-person events are nowhere on the horizon, with the highest paying competitions going missing. Fortnite pros have been speaking out over the decline in prize pools in 2021.

Fortnite prize pool down

© Fortnite

Pros React to Fortnite Prize Pools Dropping

Starting in 2021, Fortnite is formalizing a lot of aspects that typically changed from competitive event to competitive event. The first is format, sticking with Trios for all FNCS events from now on. The other though, is prize pools. Fortnite Prize pools for upcoming daily cups and other events have been confirmed, and they’re not exactly what they were. The Trios cup in upcoming season are going to payout less than a fifth of what they did in 2020, as explained  by a player here:

This is a very sharp drop for the game’s spending. Other players have expressed concern that this dropping prize pool will impact the player base:

The thinking behind this is that new players won’t be able to justify the time commitment to get good at Fortnite. Since there is considerably less chance of actually making money to validate those practising, grinding up to pro level isn’t going to be an attractive to players anymore.  Some players have even suggesting trying out the funding models of other esports:

Some of the best Fortnite players have retired from the game, after a few years of one title burnout is a major factor. Without new players to replace them, the Fortnite competitive scene could in trouble. However, while the dropping Fortnite prize pools are worrying, there is a little more to the story than this.

Why Fortnite Prize Pools are Dropping

Fortnite prize pools might be dropping in a single event, but this might be more of a correction than a downgrade.  Epic began offering completely separate tournaments for different platforms. Overnight, this tripled the actual cost for Epic to hold a contest. While prize pools stayed the same, Epic was now paying them out 3 times the amount each region it ran an event.

On top of this, Fortnite’s prize pools were way higher than standard. To buy into esports quickly, Epic threw cash at the game until a lively scene had developed. This brought a lot of players and attention in, but it might not have been sustainable. Fortnite holds a very high amount of events compared with other competitive games, and all open to players who want to take a crack at it. It is one of the most open competitive games out there, with minimal barriers to entry and a lot of events.

So while Fortnite’s prize pools are dropping, this probably isn’t the end of the world. Fortnite was overly rewarding compared to its peers for a long time, the prize pools are just shifting to be more in-line with the competition now.

Will this affect players entering the game?

Probably. Although, games with considerably less cash available still bring in plenty of passionate pro players. Fortnite is hardly rendering it impossible to make a living from playing. Fortnite competitive will be fine with the lower prize pools, even if the game is loosing a bit of what made it so appealing.

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