Fortnite is a free-to-play video game platform developed by Epic Games. Fortnite originally was developed as the cooperative player-versus-environment survival game, Fortnite: Save the World, released in mid-2017. The game's developed shifted significantly following the beta release of the Fortnite Battle Royale in September 2017, a battle royale game where up to 100 players compete to be the last player standing after dropping from an airborne Battle Bus onto an island featuring several points of interest, a wide spread of various weapons and gear, and a harmful storm front that periodically shrinks in size to draw players into smaller areas on the island. This new mode drew numerous players to the game. With Fortnite Battle Royale's success, Epic expanded the Fortnite platform for other games and user-created modes built atop the Unreal Engine and Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) system. By 2024, Fortnite supports the Epic-developed Fortnite Battle Royale, Fortnite: Save the World, Lego Fortnite, Fortnite Festival, and Rocket Racing, along with user-created games in Fortnite Creative and Fall Guys.
Since December 2017, Fortnite has included seasonal content tied to a battle pass with various cosmetic reward, each season lasting for about two to three months. Starting around the fourth season, in May 2018, Epic began introducing a narrative structure to their season to explain changes to the island and for introduction of licensed cosmetic items.