Fornite gets $100 million prize money

EPIC Games on Monday stoked the blazing popularity of its Fortnite death-match video game by putting up $100 million in prize money for eSports competitions.

The announcement of the rich prize money is a milestone for the emerging sector of eSports, or video gaming as a spectator sport.

Fortnite became an eSports phenomena after the release late last year of a Battle Royale mode that lets up to 100 players vie to be the last character standing on ever-shrinking terrain.

Players can survive by working with allies, or hiding, but the boundaries of arenas contract with damage inflicted to characters who remain outside.

“Since the launch of Fortnite Battle Royale we’ve watched the passion for community competition grow and can’t wait to empower you to battle with the best,” the Fortnite team said in an online post announced a $100 million pool of prize money for eSport matches for the 20182019 season.

“We’re getting behind competitive play in a big way, but our approach will be different – we plan to be more inclusive, and focused on the joy of playing and watching the game.”

Epic promised to disclose more in the weeks ahead about the competition.

Epic declined to update a figure it released in January saying that more than 45 million people played Fortnite. Fortnite gameplay uploads and viewing have been hot at YouTube, according to the Alphabet-owned video sharing platform.

Snippets being uploaded to YouTube include people trying to do Fortnite dance moves in real life.