Epic did the unthinkable and hosted the worlds first virtual concert in Fortnite. They had officially unveiled the details two days prior to the event. For 48 hours, exclusive “Showtime” challenges were available. Emotes and a pick-ax were up for grabs upon completion. Apart from this, the item store was also filled with Marshmello related items.
Did the Marshmello Event Live up to the Hype?
It most certainly did!
Forbes confirms that more than 10 million players worldwide had logged onto Fortnite to attend the concert. Many pro-players and streamers were live on their respective social media platforms to broadcast their experience of the virtual concert.
Marshmello himself posted this on his YouTube channel.
Epic managed to have a stable experience for the majority of the users that turned-up at Pleasant Park. An exclusive LTM “Showtime” was the only mode available at the time on the concert. Weapons and pick-ax attacking were disabled. Epic managed to pull off slick party moves by making players float and jump ridiculously high during various sections of the song. Throughout the concert, Marshmello repeatedly instructed players to use their favorite dance emotes.
Marshmello’s DJ’ing area was restricted only to Marshmello and no player could enter that area of the stage. Epic had finally figured out how to organize live-events. This time they made sure every player was alive while the event took place.
This virtual concert is surely going to trigger other live events throughout the year. For now, I imagine the live events being free and after rigorous testing, I see a freemium or paid event model coming about.
Did Marshmello Perform the Set Live?
YES!
Everyone attending the event thought that the event was pre-recorded. But apparently, it was not pre-recorded.
CourageJD managed to get into a “DUOS” game with Marshmello after the concert. During his stream, he straight up asked Marshmello whether the whole concert with pre-recorded?. Marshmello then confirms that the whole 10-minute set was performed live.
Marshmello points out that Epic had planned this event some time back. He was always interested in hosting a virtual concert but thought that the bandwidth required for it would be too much. But kudos to Epic, as he says that Epic took their time and managed to pull off something that was truly a “First of its kind”.
Here’s what Marshmello had to say after the event:
We made history today! The first ever live virtual concert inside of @fortnite with millions of people in attendance. So insane, thank you epic games and everyone who made this possible! pic.twitter.com/xdaNGnyMr9
— marshmello (@marshmellomusic) February 2, 2019
He even re-tweeted a few comparisons of his concert vs The Superbowl.
Fortnite x @marshmellomusic had more hype and energy (in a video game) than Maroon 5 did (with 70,000 humans in attendance) at Super Bowl ?♂️
— DJ Skee (@djskee) February 4, 2019
What Does This Mean to the Fortnite Community?
Season 7 was filled with in-game live events. The Marshmello concert proved that Fortnite is concentrating more on the social aspect of the game rather than restricting it to a shooter game. Live map changes, live-weather, and in-game live events seem to be a priority for Epic so far in 2019. Rumors of a “Fire-King” event happening at the ends of this season, is doing the rounds. A Song of Fire and Ice anyone? As days go by and with future update-patches, data-miners are going to uncover a lot of hidden data, keeping us in the loop of what might happen towards the end of this season.
What are your thoughts on in-game events? Do you think more virtual concerts should happen soon? If yes, Who would you like to see next?