A PS4 exclusive Fortnite tournament is coming soon

Fortnite has long been a game available on just about any platform going, but only competitively viable on one. Despite the Arena Mode hypothetically allowing for any platform to qualify for the upcoming Fortnite World Cup, serious play was only ever done on PC. This has all changed recently with the announcement of various console-only Fortnite tournaments. Following the recent Xbox x Fortnite tournament, the PlayStation 4 is now to receive its own exclusive Fortnite tournament.

The announcement was relatively low-key, at least for the time being. An Epic community manager reassured Sony players on the game’s subreddit that a PS4 cup was in the works with more details coming soon.

While details are currently unknown, there are some blanks that can be filled in. The prize pool for the event will probably be the same amount as Epic has used for the majority of their recent events; $1,000,000. This number, while once shockingly high for a weekly event, is now a routine prize for just about any tournament organised by Epic. If the Xbox tournament is anything to go by, players won’t need to have progressed through the game’s arena mode to take part in the competition either.

The console only tournaments offer a chance for controller players to try their skills against each other. However, consoles have one big drawback when compared with PCs outside of the controls; the quality you can play the game in.

The console version of Fortnite does not offer anywhere near the number of customization options for players. Frame rate and quality are pretty much capped at the same level for every player This type of equality levels the playing field for potential competitors in a way that PC tournaments don’t. While the PS4 offers a ‘Pro’ version with better quality, the increase on that console is largely just in definition, allowing up to a 4K picture. The frame rate and performance-boosting improvements are off-limits.

© Riot Games

What’s next for other platforms?

With both an Xbox tournament and a PS4 tournament now held for Fortnite, what is next for the platform? Well, the PC competitive scene is still progressing and is unlikely to stop anytime soon. However, with console players now receiving a fair chance at getting some prize money, we might well see this extend to the other platforms the game is on.

The Nintendo Switch is yet to have anything in the way of exclusive tournaments. With a lot of its users utilising the style of gyroscope controllers popularised in Nintendo’s home-grown shooter Splatoon, a Fortnite tournament on the system would definitely be something different. It likely wouldn’t offer the madcap antics of competitive events in that game, but seeing Fortnite pros relying on movement to get eliminations would mix things up a bit.

There is also the mobile version of Fortnite. While pretty much universally shunned by serious players, the mobile game does have an active and enthusiastic player base. With Epic giving tournaments to other ways of playing Fortnite, it now seems like only a matter of time until Fortnite on mobile receives its own tournament.

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