If you can believe it we’ve only been talking about Fortnite, PUBG, and Battle Royale games for a bit over a year now. In fact, we just finished up the first year of Fortnite’s domination over the gaming scene. That means it’s a great time to look at the effects on the gaming industry one year after Fortnite’s release.

At the moment Fortnite is in the top 10 charts for both PC and Console gaming. It’s number 6 for PC, behind titles like League of Legends, PUBG, and Dungeon Fighter Online. On console though, Fortnite is king of the hill and a position it has held since March. It jumped over FIFA 18 and Call of Duty: WWII to take the number one spot. Despite the popularity of PC and Console, it hasn’t managed to chart for revenue from mobile players. The biggest reason for that being it’s only available on iOS at the moment. Despite that, Fortnite Mobile is still bringing in $2 million a day. It’s unlikely that the news that Fortnite won’t be on the Google Play platform will actually do all that much damage to the title and the fact that they don’t have to give 30% of their revenue to Google means Epic may actually win out on this deal.

If this does in fact happen it could prove to be a wake-up call for distribution platforms: adjust your fees for the megahits or get left behind. Fortnite doesn’t need Google Play, Steam, or anyone else to distribute the game. Steam needs Fortnite a whole lot more than Fortnite needs Steam. Yes, there are a not insignificant number of people who will only play a game if it is on Steam but compared to the numbers they already have…that’s just a small drop in the bucket. So, it could very well be that in the future we see these platforms negotiating with games like Fortnite, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and whatever the next massive hit is. Or maybe they will take the same view as the games and decide that they’re doing just fine without them.

The effects Fortnite is having on the industry are widespread. Just last week gaming industry market research experts SuperData Research released a think piece talking about how Fortnite appears to be cannibalizing other massively successful titles. We’re seeing drops in the player numbers and Twitch viewing times for games like League of Legends, CS: GO, and Overwatch. At the same time as these drops, Fortnite is seeing a noticeable increase. This is important because they all tend to appeal to the same core audience. On Steam, PUBG has seen a constant decline in players every month since February 2018. In March Fortnite overtook PUBG in terms of popularity. It isn’t a difficult stretch to assume that at least some of those players have moved from one battle royale title to another.

As you would expect with trendy new game genres we’ve seen a lot of new Battle Royale games announced. At E3 this year it took only 6 minutes for the first Battle Royale title to be announced. On top of that we had battle royale modes for Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and there may even be one in Division 2. Cyanide & Happiness is working on a Battle Royale game that takes place after the rapture and the makers of Survarium revealed Fear the Wolves, which is based at Chernobyl and has mutant wolves. While there were a lot of Battle Royale games announced it seems like the bigger studios may have learned their lesson from the MOBA bubble and stayed away.

Even though that was the case at E3, we have now seen EA investors asking when EA is going to get in on the Battle Royale trend. During the Q1 earnings call, there were a lot of questions about Battle Royale games, the possibility of the Battlefield V mode being a separate game, and generally the desire for a standalone Battle Royale game. Will EA’s attempt at a Battle Royale game be successful or will it end up like Dawngate (its attempt to break into the MOBA genre that never made it out of beta before it was cancelled)?

We have already seen the demise of one Battle Royale game, Radical Heights, but it’s difficult to count the game’s demise against the genre. The studio behind it was struggling and released the game on Early Access prematurely in an attempt to save the studio from collapse. The game was incomplete because it was rushed out and what success it did have (which wasn’t much) just wasn’t enough to save Boss Key Productions. There was also the rushed release of The Culling 2, which has almost unanimously negative reviews on Steam.

With Gamescom right around the corner, we’re sure to see even more Battle Royale titles being announced. It is likely that the larger studios will attempt to get in on the action despite previously showing little interest. It’s really impossible to ignore the fact that Fortnite has brought in more than $300 million in one month. That’s a whole lot of money and just like the industry set out to make a WoW killer, soon they’re going to be working on creating a Fortnite killer. Expect to see the exact same results we did then.

To say that Fortnite had an amazing first year would be a massive understatement. They’ve blown everyone out of the water and while the massive growth does seem to be slowing down that isn’t going to last forever. Before long we’ll have Fortnite on Android and bar any disaster it will top charts just like all the other versions of the game. The games industry is still in a reactionary period where they’re changing gears to get in on a piece of that Battle Royale pie. But, that raises a question…

Is there any room left in the Battle Royale genre for more games?

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There’s lots of combat to be had in TERA, but none of it takes place in the sky. At least, it won’t until the Guardians of the Sky update, which is bringing some new combat missions that will have players fighting in the clouds on the backs of their flying mounts.

Guardians of the Sky will introduce two flying missions to the Guardian Legion mode: Rhapsody of Wind and Fire, which has you collecting orbs to unleash on desert wraiths to protect sky whales and clear a safe passage for them; and Search and Destroy, which tasks you with taking out drones and holding out as long as you can until a mothership arrives to drive out invading aliens.

In addition to these new flying missions, TERA has taken the opportunity to introduce some new flying mounts. Three different dragons by the names of Gloom, Dusk, and Storm will arrive with the update to the in-game store. Each mount has a combat and non-combat variant, and offer different HP and MP restoration while riding them as well as skills that increase your crit power when you dismount or roar skills that increase damage against monsters.

The Guardians of the Sky update will arrive at PC players on Tuesday, August 14th. A trailer showing off some of the aerial combat can be seen below.

Our Thoughts

While the aerial combat in TERA doesn’t really seem to strike as completely remarkable on paper, perhaps this will pave the way for additional aerial missions that will spice things up significantly more. In any case, we’re curious to see what else this update has to bring and how players will take to these new missions.

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Playing as one of six character classes, players find themselves banished for their past misdeeds to the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast. There, they will encounter hundreds of species of opponents laden with loot and mysterious artifacts as they explore the abandoned continent.

Players will be able to purchase in-game perks, such as extra victory animations, clothing, and special effects. To protect the integrity of the game for all players, Grinding Gear Games has decided not to sell abilities or experience points – ensuring a level playing field for everyone in the game.

With an open-ended and flexible skill and item system, randomized items and random dungeons, the game promises three acts of visceral combat gameplay, with additional expansions already planned.

In Path of Exile: Delve, you will delve into the Azurite Mine's infinite depths to extract treasure and discover its subterranean secrets.

The latest expansion features an infinite dungeon and socketable currency items, as well as a bunch of new unique items, skill gems, balance changes, graphics engine improvements and more!

The Azurite Mine

Left untouched for over 250 years, the Azurite Mine has been consumed by a malevolent darkness that cast out the Eternal Empire. Niko, an inventor, has harnessed the power of Voltaxic Sulphite to create a machine called the Crawler that can pierce the darkness. Delve into the mine but don't leave the Crawler's light for long or you'll be crushed by the darkness.

The Crawler will speed up if you get ahead of it.

The Azurite Mine is full of treasures for those brave enough to risk the darkness for short periods of time. Use flares to venture farther away from the Crawler's path, and dynamite to destroy unstable walls which conceal even greater rewards.

Any Azurite you find in the mine can be traded to Niko at his base camp. In return, he offers to upgrade the Crawler and can sell you flares, dynamite and crafting materials to aid your exploration.

Deep in the Azurite Mine, you'll discover many different biomes. As you delve even deeper, you may encounter lost cities from Wraeclast's dark history. Each environment has its own monsters, bosses, encounters, and rewards.

The ancient civilizations created special crafting items that can be socketed with fossils to modify their behavior.

The Azurite Mine is Path of Exile's first infinite dungeon. The deeper you delve, the harder the game gets. In Delve, you'll find encounters that are much harder than end-game Maps. Your progress is only limited by the power of your character build. The Depth Ladder tracks who has delved the deepest into the mine.

Path of Exile: Delve includes ten powerful new or completely reworked skills, centered around two character archetypes: the Guardian and the Pathfinder. Play as a holy warrior who strikes down foes with lightning damage while benefiting teammates and minions, or as a chaotic archer who uses nature- and poison-based skills to pin and suffocate enemies.

A Path of Exile expansion is not complete without powerful new items to discover! Delve includes 7 new Divination Cards and 18 new Unique Items which have a focus on creating powerful new build opportunities.

In your travels across Wraeclast, you may very rarely discover a Timeworn Reliquary Key. This key will open a portal to the Timeworn Reliquary which contains one of 150 Unique Relics from past Path of Exile leagues.

We're also launching two sets of Supporter Packs alongside Delve - the Shadowstalker and Dreadforge Packs. There are two price points available for each and they feature masses of points alongside new Armour Sets and other exclusive cosmetic microtransactions!

Path of Exile: Delve will launch on August 31st (PDT) on PC and September 3rd on Xbox One.

Key Features:

• Download and play for free, but never pay-to-win
• A dark and deep action RPG
• Unlimited character combinations with the game's gigantic skill tree
• Combine skill gems to create unique combat strategies
• Explore a dark and gritty world rendered from a fixed 3D perspective
• Explore randomly generated levels for nearly infinite replayability
• Craft weapons, magic items, and even end-game maps to
  become more powerful
• Cooperate or compete with thousands of other Exiles in a
  persistent online world
• Ascend online ladders in every game mode

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What can be said about Fortnite that hasn't already been put down, flipped, and reversed? It's the game that seemingly everyone has heard of, and it's making Epic Games a whole lot of money. Kids can't stop playing it in school. Parents are hiring tutors to help their kids win more matches. The world is going crazy, and we have Fortnite to thank.

But the Fortnite we're all familiar with today is pretty new. Battle Royale, in particular, only released in September 2017, and it was by no means the original focus of the game prior to that. Instead, Fortnite started out primarily as a co-op zombie survival game and has changed quite a bit in its six-plus years of development.

Today, you'll get to learn all about those changes.

It's not uncommon for games to warp and bend as development marches on. But given Fortnite's recent popularity, it's fun to go back and look at what might have been. Had Epic not made some key changes, there's a good chance Fortnite would have been far less addicting. And we'd live in a far different world today — one without a floss dance emote.

Here's what Fortnight almost looked like.

Fortnite was originally planned as a PC-exclusive title

Are you one of the millions of Fortnite players doing battle on a PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch? Or have you taken your talents to the mobile version on iOS? If so, you should thank your lucky stars that the version you're playing even exists.

Because Fortnite was originally going to be a PC-exclusive game. And, wow, what a different world we'd live in if that were still the case.

Epic's reason for PC exclusivity was sound at the time. In the middle of Fortnite's development, the team working on the game was by far the largest at the studio. And Epic just wasn't sure how the newer generation of consoles would handle a persistent, constantly evolving free-to-play game. The PC was proven the ground for this business model, though, so they threw all their initial efforts there.

Fortunately, the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and later, the Nintendo Switch, were shown to be safe havens for games that had free-to-play models. "Things have changed from the console space and have adapted to the new market, which is cool," Fortnite lead designer Darren Sugg told Eurogamer. "So because of those adaptations the future for where Fortnite ends up is not set in stone. I think there are lots of possibilities about how you can interact with Fortnite on different platforms."

Building once involved playing a mini-game

Building in Fortnite is what sets the title apart so drastically from other shooters and survival games. Construction on a tile begins immediately, and the piece being built instantly becomes useful for cover, or for gaining higher ground on an enemy. But building wasn't always a highlight in Fortnite. It didn't even use to be fun.

Why? Because Epic's first take on building involved a small mini-game. And when a zombie horde is attacking, or a PvP opponent is shooting at you, the last thing you want to see is a mini-game.

"It took us a while to get to how we do building now, where building is super frictionless," said producer Roger Collum in an interview with Game Informer. "Our first pass at it was like, we should actually build … you know, you have to hit a button and make it a mini-game. We realized, you know, that's not fun."

That design decision ended up being a good one, to put it mildly. The fast pace of building in Fortnite adds excitement to both of the game's modes, Battle Royale and Save the World. And it would be tough to imagine Fortnite without it.

The art style wasn't always cartoony

Another unique attribute of Fortnite is its art style. For a game that is either a zombie survival title or an action shooter, depending on your mode of choice, Fortnite's look is unexpectedly bright and cartoony. It's an aesthetic that, according to Kotaku, the team gleaned from properties like "Pixar, Tim Burton, and even Looney Toons." But this wasn't always the look Fortnite was going for.

Early on, Fortnite was going to take on a much darker tone — similar to the more gruesome Gears and Unreal games Epic had made previously.

So why the change? According to Cliff Bleszinski, who was still with Epic Games early in Fortnite's development, the team wanted to avoid an "exhausting environment." Instead, Epic wanted to create a more open and inviting world that players could have fun in. Not to mention, Bleszinski didn't want to "be in the same space as the awesome DayZ."

So there you have it. The next time you see someone on a shopping cart fly by, or you see a teammate pop an emote after downing a zombie, just know that Fortnite could have been a much more somber experience.

Both the campaign map and user interface were revamped during development

It's no big secret that video games can change quite dramatically during development. Designers and developers meld their minds to find solutions to problems, testers give things a go, and sometimes, gameplay issues pop up that need to be addressed. Fortnite is no exception here. During the many years, the game was in development, it underwent a whole bunch of changes.

In one entertaining instance, a writer from PC World was told that the map he was playing on was already outdated. And the current UI was getting tossed.

That was in the summer of 2015, and back then, it seemed as though Epic had at least landed on a solid gameplay loop. That is, the underlying structure of building and battling was intact. But the game, according to that same PC World writer, was "a bit too big and unwieldy." The user interface was confusing, and Epic hadn't found a campaign map that did the game justice.

Both changed, and you can now see the difference in today's version of Save the World, which offers a far more streamlined experience.

Microtransactions almost took the form of card packs

A few years back, Epic was certain of at least one thing when it came to Fortnite: the game would be a free-to-play title supported by microtransactions. What the studio didn't quite have figured out, though, was the form those microtransactions would take. Could Fortnite feature a cosmetics store? Or, perhaps, sell upgrades as part of a more play-to-win type of model? Epic kicked around a lot of ideas, and in an interview with IGN, spilled the beans on one of them.

Card packs — not dissimilar to those found in games like Rising of the Tomb Raider or Mass Effect 3.

In the end, that's not the route Epic took to drive revenue. Today's version of Fortnite makes use of a Battle Pass and cosmetics shop in Battle Royale, as well as "llama piñatas" in its Save the World mode. The latter is far more random than the former, but neither is required to play the game. And in the case of Save the World, those who've paid for early access to the mode get six free llamas every day.

Fortnite almost had an entirely different take on PvP

In the world of video games, Fortnite: Battle Royale is the "it" boy band. You can love it or hate it, but chances are, you've heard of it. And there doesn't seem to be a statement that is too hyperbolic when describing its popularity. But the fascinating thing about Fortnite's large-scale multiplayer mode is that it wasn't part of the original plan. Epic had a much different idea for how Fortnite PvP would look when developing the game three years ago, and there wasn't a Battle Bus in sight.

Instead, Fortnite's versus mode was meant to be a 5-on-5 affair.

We know what you're thinking: that's, like, 90s players than you'll find in Battle Royale. That's a pretty big shift, but that's not the only thing different about the PvP mode Epic abandoned. Storms of zombies could interrupt matches at any time, forcing teams to battle both each other and the undead simultaneously. It was PvPvE, and it had the potential to be hectic.

Alas, gamers never got to see what that mode could have been like. The world got Battle Royale, and things haven't been the same since.

The building and battling systems used to be confusing

There are two major systems in Fortnite. One is the system for building and crafting that allows you to construct enormous forts and lay down traps. The other is the system for combat, which helps you survive through the use of guns and melee weapons. Today, moving between the two systems is relatively simple — it's the tap of a controller button or the press of a key.

But it didn't use to be so easy. And those who played early versions of Fortnite had a very hard time surviving because of it.

According to developer Billy Bramer, who spoke about Fortnite's development at the 2013 Game Developers Conference, players initially couldn't tell what mode they were in. This would cause them to start building walls and floors when they actually meant to attack an enemy. When Epic tried to address this by giving players a hammer in "build" mode, players were confused that they couldn't use it as a weapon.

"To the player, a hammer is a hammer and it makes perfect sense that if a monster attacks and I have a hammer in my hand, I can hit you with it."

Eventually, Epic landed on something that worked. The studio made the player hold a blueprint in "build" mode and allowed for a quick one-button toggle between building and combat. And those are the controls the game ships with today.

Fortnite might not have survived without Battle Royale

You've seen all the ways Fortnite has changed since the early days of its development. The art has changed. The gameplay systems have changed. And the game is available on far more platforms than Epic planned to support. But there's a wild truth that exists about Fortnite, and we sometimes lose sight of it because of how popular the game has become. So let's acknowledge it.

There might not even be a Fortnite if Battle Royale hadn't launched.

It's easy to forget these days, but there was a time when Fortnite existed without PvP. Save the World hadn't become a separate game mode yet — rather, it was the only mode. And that version of the game received a lot of "meh" reviews that praised its gameplay mechanics but knocked it for being too repetitive.

Fortnite wasn't maintaining a whole lot of interest. And it's fair to wonder if Epic would have kept supporting the game without a captive audience. It certainly didn't stand behind Paragon. So what might Fortnite have looked like today? Canceled, that's what.

But Battle Royale changed that. And now Epic is making money hand over fist and supporting both Battle Royale and Save the World. So everyone wins.

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If you want to be a Mapler on the go, you may want to check in on Nexon's MapleStory M, the mobile game based on the MapleStory franchise. The game is free to download and play in over 140 countries in nine localized versions. All who log in and play over the next two weeks will receive daily goodies through August 21st. Pre-registrants will be able to claim their rewards on August 21st as well.

The global launch features 150 levels of content, including:

• New Character Classes: The Explorers are a new breed of hero who fights side-by-side to maintain the peace in Maple World;
• Battle Function: This function features the mobile-optimized hunting and leveling with the auto-battle and auto-quest function for each class;
• Character Customization: Players can show off their unique style by customizing their characters’ hair color and choosing from all sorts of fashionable items and accessories;
• Dungeons: These unique challenging modes will let Maplers level up and complete quests solo or with friends;
• Pets and Mounts: Maplers can adopt pets to join them in battle and hop on mounts to get around with speed and style.

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Grinding Gear is one of the hardest working bunch of developers that continually proves that quality content can be pushed out at a blistering pace. Path of Exile: Incursion launched earlier this summer, but not resting on their laurels, the team is expanding Path of Exile yet again with Delve, the game's first infinite dungeon that will challenge even the hardiest of players.

As the name implies, Delve pits players against growing danger and their growing sense of claustrophobia as they delve deeper into an abandoned mineshaft. The new adventure is the game's first infinite dungeon that challenges players to some intriguing new mechanics.

Of course, with any Path of Exile content, risk equals reward and Delve no different. Those willing to push the envelope of their skill will find themselves appropriately compensated for that effort. No matter where a player falls on the spectrum of ability, the rewards will make any effort to Delve worthwhile.

So what IS Delve?

Delve takes place in an abandoned azurite mine where, as Chris Wilson told me, "encroaching darkness is taking over." While it seems dormant, at least regarding human endeavor, there is more there than meets the eye. The key is, however, to find clever ways to plumb the depths. This is where Nico the Mad comes into play. He is a miner that has made a generator that allows lighting in the mine with the twist that it must be mounted on a minecart. The twist is, of course, that azurite only lasts for a limited time, hence the light provided to the player within the mine is also limited. 

As players of any level travel the "over the world," they will from time to time run into nodes of Voltaxic Sulphite. Just passing within its proximity will bring Nico to the node to mine it without any player interaction at all. Players will then be tasked with either saving up the mineral which allows deeper and longer trips into the mine or spending it as soon as they get it, meaning shorter trips.

As the minecart or Crawler, moves, it emits a small pool of light. Players staying within it are relatively "safe" (is anyone safe in Path of Exile...really?). Lag behind the Crawler, and it will "wait." Get ahead of it, and the Crawler speeds up.

The conundrum that players will face is that there are all sorts of side tunnels and rooms to explore, each with the potential to yield big rewards. Some are small rooms that a quick dash and grab will keep players within the safe zone. Others require more planning. Players choosing to venture away from the light are faced with an increasingly strong debuff -- darkness is painful and too long in darkness can be lethal. Darkness can be mitigated somewhat by using flares or by the precise judgment of how long to grab the loot and get back to the light before dying. And it's not just the darkness either -- monsters also rove around waiting for the foolhardy to stray away from safety. These monsters are no pushovers either. Some have an EMP-like ability that can knock out the Crawler's light for a few seconds. Without a handy flare, this could spell doom for the unprepared adventurer.

As players move along with the Crawler, it will pass the nodes of azurite from time to time. The mineral will automatically be added to the cart as players pass by. This is important as azurite is used to upgrade the Crawler or flares and dynamite. Also, items dropped along the way will also be neatly collected for players to loot at the end of the Delve, so no time is wasted picking up things that drop. 

As you might expect, the deeper a player ventures, the more the danger increases and the rewards get better. As an infinite dungeon, players will find "a lot of very interesting things along the way -- hidden cities, special events...players will see new things all the time," Chris said. "We've used ten tilesets of things you can encounter including ice caves, petrified forests, underground cities, fiery caverns, bosses, events and more. It's different for everyone every time. You can explore downward or laterally."

The best part is that if, for instance, a player moves downward and finds the area simply too tough, he can move back up to the last level where he was successful and move laterally instead. There's no "one right way" to explore the dungeon.

Delve allows players to literally "measure up" against others. This hasn't been possible before in Path of Exile. So players can work to go deeper and deeper into the mine and have their "prowess" show up on a leaderboard. They can compete against one another to reach the deepest areas of the dungeon.

The rewards are worth it too: One type of item that players can find crafting items that allow players "a measure of determinism to the process." Players will find socketable crafting items and fossils that "constraint and augment the types of modifiers that can spawn on items crafted in this way."

By way of example:

For example, the Metallic Fossil (Slide 14) increases the chance of rolling Lightning Mods, adds more exclusive ones to the available pool, and removes the possibility of Physical Damage mods (which is a benefit when creating a lighting item). When placed in an Alchemical Resonator, it makes a crafting item (similar to an Orb of Alchemy) that can create a lightning weapon, for example. 

Whew...that's a LOT...but what else?

If that's not enough to make your head spin, perhaps the addition of ten new skills or revamped older skills. Each one "contributes to several powerful new characters builds." Two of the ten are Smite, a new skill targeting Guardians (Templar subclass). The other is Toxic Rain aimed at bow using Chaos Pathfinder build users.  The other eight will be announced over the coming weeks.

Also, nine brand new unique items are being introduced specifically in Delve, with another nine unique items that can be found anywhere and are "build defining unique items like The Primordial Chain."

Players will also be able to find Timeworn Reliquary Keys that can open portals to special chests containing Relic unique items. These are literally "relics" from the past -- unique items from past leagues that are out of the game and only found in these portal zones.

Players can look for a lot of new graphical tech improvements as well. Many of them are centered on the lighting throughout the game, but that takes on particular significance in Delve. Global Illumination and Ambient Occlusion make the shadows writhe on the walls and add a new layer of immersion to players' experiences. Add in dynamic water speeds and effects, and players will find new ways to feel that PoE features a living, breathing world.

Lastly, the team is beginning a big task by tackling older areas of the game to provide them with a new coat of paint. Assets within the early game are being spruced up for a 2018 feel, and the process will be continuing over time.

Wrapping it all up...

All in all, Delve looks like yet another strong entry into the ever-growing Path of Exile world. It's set to provide players of all character and skill levels with new ways to challenge themselves and the game. We can't wait to see what the community produces!

What's got you the most stoked?

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New Zealand based Grinding Gear Games has had great success with their ARPG Path of Exile thanks to their no pay to win monetization policy and regular content updates. Today that has announced that Chinese publisher and all-around mega-company Tencent has acquired a majority stake in Grinding Gear Games.

According to GGG’s CEO Chris Wilson, this latest move will not impact the way in which the game operated or the company is run. The company will still be independently run by the current team with the change being that they have financial reporting obligations to Tencent. They say there will be “minimal impact on our philosophy and operations”.

GGG stresses that they will have “retain full control of Path of Exile and will only make changes that we feel are best for the game”. This means there will be no change to the monetization on their international servers and will not be pay to win. Tencent may request changes to the Chinese version and GGG says that if any of these changes are a good fit for the international servers they may get rolled out.

GGG will be focusing on developing more Path of Exile and say they are “committed to our current schedule of four releases per year” and there are “really big plans” for future expansions.

CEO Chris Wilson added, “If you like what we’ve done so far, you’ll love what we’re working on next. As well as multiple 3.x expansions in 2018 and 2019, we’ve just started development of 4.0.0, which is currently targeted to enter Beta testing in early 2020.”

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The new God of War proved that an older, bearded Kratos is just as deadly... but the game was originally going to start an out of shape Kratos who had "let himself go."

No matter how old, scarred, angry, or bitter a father the latest take on Kratos turned out to be, the game itself was a hit, rejuvenating the entire God of War franchise with a new style, story, and structure. It's as successful as a reboot can get, and the director Cory Barlog credits some bold decisions and obvious risks for the victory. He fought for God of War to be one single shot, and won - but he didn't get everything he wanted.

When his first plan for the new God of War began, Kratos was a far cry from the ripped, muscle-bound warrior he'd been in his younger years.

RELATED: How To Get God of War's Super Secret Ending

That insight was offered during San Diego Comic-Con 2018, with Barlog part of a panel of creatives specifically tasked with reinventing or re-imagining established franchises (without forgetting why fans loved them in the first place). On the surface, jumping years into Kratos' future and having the aging, scruffy, former god raising a child in Scandinavia was a major risk. A risk that paid off in almost every way.

But as Barlog reveals, the Kratos fans got was closer to the past than he initially intended. Apparently, the rest of the developers had to draw a line at introducing an overweight Kratos to the series' story:

In the beginning, we were talking about, you know, 'What is Kratos going to look like?' And I kind of wanted to go extreme, I was like, 'He should have really let himself go, right?'... Yeah, Dad bod, right? David Harbour as Kratos. And I thought it could be really cool.

Then we started describing it as an athlete in the off-season. Then we just very slowly moved away from that - without my knowledge. So they just kept changing it a little, like, 'It looks different today,' and they're like, 'Don't worry about it, it's cool. Same as yesterday. Same thing as yesterday.' Then eventually he just got really ripped again. And then it was really the beard and Chris's [Judge] voice that aged him.

As shocking as it will be for fans to imagine a Kratos who doesn't possess a flawless physique, bulging biceps, and washboard abs, we can only hope that some concept art depicting Kratos "with a belly" arrives eventually. In the end, most fans will agree that the point Barlog was trying to make still came across in the final product. Kratos hasn't grown weak or gluttonous in his missing years, but his weariness to return to the game of god-killing comes through from the beginning.

When the story returned the Blades of Chaos to Kratos, seeing that he was the same man he used to be - only... different - helped the game's story nail the landing. Had Kratos looked like he had physically changed from the man he used to be, those moments may have taken on a different meaning.
Then again, if this Kratos of the snow had an extra layer of meat on his bones (or fat) fans would probably have understood the logic. And in the end, the game was so good, God of War fans would have to be looking for reasons not to love it.
What do you think of Barlog's intentions? Would you have been on board with a chubbier Kratos for story reasons, or would it have been a step too far into reimagining?

God of War is available now for the PlayStation 4.

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Fortnite’s Locker Room is Gonna Need Renovations

Fortnite is finally making it’s way to Android devices later this week, and with it comes Battle Royale patch 5.2. A couple of popular Fortnite leakers have gotten their hands on the APK for the upcoming release and uncovered a plethora of new and unexpected cosmetics coming to the game.

Firstly, FNBRLeaks found files indicating that Battle Bus customizations will be making their way to Fortnite, along with hats, vehicle decorations, consumable emotes that allow for players to customize the way they consume items, victory poses that happen automatically after winning a match, Map markers will also receive some form of customization, likely allowing players to choose their color, and something referred to as “Calling Cards” is coming to the game as well.

Along with that, FNBRLeaks found that those who pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which Fortnite for Android launches exclusively on first later this week, will receive 15,000 V-bucks, and another file that indicates that the enormous rift from last season will begin shrinking starting on August 21st.

On top of all that, XDA junior member thesbros dug through the 5.2 patch and found a ton of new cosmetics and modes coming to Fortnite, though it’s unknown if all of them (particularly the game modes) will drop with the new patch later this week.

Epic Games has confirmed that one of the world most talked about games will not be released through the Google Play store. Instead, players will need to download the Fortnite Installer directly from the official website.

The company's CEO Tim Sweeney tells GamesIndustry.biz that this is in part to build "a direct relationship with all our customers", but that the decision is also "motivated by economic efficiency" - namely avoiding the need to pay Google a 30 percent cut of all revenue generated by the game.

"The 30 percent store tax is a high cost in a world where game developers' 70 percent must cover all the cost of developing, operating, and supporting their games," he explains.

"There's a rationale for this on the console where there's enormous investment in hardware, often sold below cost and marketing campaigns in broad partnership with publishers. But on open platforms, 30 percent is disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform, such as payment processing, download bandwidth, and customer service.

"We're intimately familiar with these costs from our experience operating Fortnite as a direct-to-customer service on PC and Mac."

Indeed, Epic is also familiar with the costs of running an online store thanks to the Unreal Engine Marketplace and has already demonstrated its distaste for the 30 percent cut. Last month, the success of Fortnite enabled Epic to not only lower the share it takes from asset sales to 12 percent but also retroactively paying developers what they would have historically earned with the new rate.

"There's a rationale for [high store tax] on console where there's enormous investment in hardware and marketing. But on open platforms, 30 per cent is disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform"

And Sweeney is by no means shunning Google - in fact, he's quick to praise the firm for creating an open platform that enables Epic to deliver Fortnite in this way. The CEO has previously suggested Apple and Google's app stores take advantage of developers but is pleased the latter at least offers a more democratic alternative as well.

"Google is one of the world's leading supporters of open platforms - for example, as a top contributor to the open-source Linux kernel, which is at the heart of the Android platform," Sweeney says. "I think they're driven by the same ethos we have at Epic in opening up Unreal Engine 4's full source code to developers.

"Openness creates an attractive, thriving ecosystem where everyone can innovate without having to ask for permission. Windows, Android, Mac, Unreal Engine, Linux, and other projects show that a company can open up its ecosystem and still run a successful and profitable business."

Such platforms also bring companies closer to their consumers, with Sweeney adding that the rise of the internet and the digital revolutions mean "physical storefronts and middlemen distributors are no longer required."

"On open platforms like PC, Mac, and Android, Epic's goal is to bring its games directly to customers," he says. "We believe gamers will benefit from competition among software sources on Android. Competition among services gives consumers lots of great choices and enables the best to succeed based on merit."

There is a danger that the lack of a store listing on Google Play will make it harder for Android owners to find the game - particularly the mainstream or younger users that might not be aware Fortnite is available without it appearing on the store's homepage.

But the Epic CEO remains confident his firm will be able to reach its audience, reiterating that the installer can be found with "a simple web search... just as with Fortnite for PC and Mac."

The game will come to Android later this summer, and Epic assures it will be the same 100-player game found on consoles and PC - continuing Sweeney's stance that game experiences should be the same across different platforms.

Already a smash hit before it arrived on mobile, Fortnite saw its userbase surge when it released on iOS earlier this year. Epic is hoping for another boost with the game coming to Android, thus making it available on all major platforms, but Sweeney says the expectations (at least to begin with) are remarkably modest.

This will, of course, change over time and Epic is working closely with Google and Amazon (the latter for its cloud services) to optimize the game as quickly as possible.

Fortnite continues to be a phenomenon thanks to its popular free-to-play Battle Royale mode and is reportedly on course to generate $2 billion in in-game purchases over the course of that year. With all of the Android revenue going directly to the developer, Epic Games stands to continue its own growth, having recently been valued at around $8 billion.

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