The rise and rise (and rise) of 'Fortnite'

The premise of this new mode was simple: 100 people parachute onto an island with only the clothes on their back and a pickaxe. Players can go it alone or enter as a team of up to four. As they forage for weapons and defensive items and generally hunt rival players, the game slowly restricts the game area by way of a "Storm Eye," which players must remain inside to survive. It's this mechanic that keeps the game active: The eye periodically shrinks and players are forced to converge on the same areas on the map or risk checking out early. If that idea sounds familiar, it's because the gameplay loop is what made PUBG so popular in the first place.