Fortnite has been in development for years. Â The original concept from Epic Games was revealed some time ago, popping up here and there in the process. Â Well, it appears that Epic is finally ready to release the crafting game to the masses as it will launch into Early Access on July 25th and then transition into a free-to-play game in 2018.
The only problem is, Epic is charging for Early Access to their free-to-play game, and the prices are outrageous. Â They range from $39.99 to beta test the game the Epic and get a couple of in-game goodies — all the way up to a $149.99 Â version of the Early Access game that features a number of in-game free-to-play items which Epic deems a $350 “value.”
The prices combined with the fact that the game is going free-to-play makes this a completely absurd offer. Â While others have tried this in the past, noone has gotten this egregious with their Early Access schemes.
Fortnite doesn’t sound groundbreaking. Â It still pretty much sounds like the same game they announced back in 2011. Â Players will harvest materials, build forts and equipment, and then look to defend themselves from an onslaught. Â According to the developer, “Fortnite takes a bunch of Epic’s gunplay know-how and smashes it together with a Diablo-style RPG system.” Â Apparently, it took Epic six years to come up with enough free-to-play concepts to make this a profitable venture.
Just look at this pre-order webpage. Â It’s really asking a lot for a game that we’ve seen almost nothing of and is going to be free-to-play down the line. Â Alongside the “opportunity” to purchase early access to a free-to-play game, Epic did reveal a new gameplay trailer which you can find below.
Keep an eye out for Fortnite on July 25th if you have more money than sense.
