FIVE THINGS

The multiplayer video game Fortnite made headlines last week for a celebrity-studded match watched by hundreds of thousands of fans.

Here are five things to know about the game:

1 WHAT IT IS

A third-person perspective game with a cartoony esthetic. Gamers try to survive in a world that’s lost 98 per cent of its population and is beset by monsters. A separate free Fortnite Battle Royale version allows up to 100 players to go to war against each other online.

2 CELEBRITY MATCH

Some 630,000 onlookers were watching as Drake, rapper Travis Scott and Pittsburgh Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster joined high-profile gamer Tyler (Ninja) Blevins for a broadcast on the streaming platform Twitch in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Drake used his official Twitter account to confirm it was really him playing and chatting during the broadcast. His moniker? TheBoyDuddus.

3 LOVE FROM LEAFS

In December, Auston Matthews and other members of the Toronto Maple Leafs told reporters they were big fans of Fortnite and had developed an inter-team rivalry.

“Off days I don’t really leave my apartment too much just because you just want to relax, so I’ve been trying to get better every day,” said Matthews, who admitted teammate Tyler Bozak was probably the best Fortnite player on the Leafs. He hinted goalie Frederik Andersen needed the most practice.

4 STRANGER THINGS

Canadian actor Finn Wolfhard, one of the stars of Netflix’s sci-fi hit Stranger Things, has been sharing his Fortnite exploits on Twitter. Fans can also check out his Twitch page for a few dozen videos of him playing Fortnite and other games including Overwatch and Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds.

5 GOING MOBILE

Fortnite Battle Royale is set to reach even greater audiences once it’s fully rolled out to mobile devices. Developer Epic Games is currently letting fans sign up for an invitation to play on Apple iOS devices, although no specific release date has been set. A version for Google Android devices is expected “in the next few months.”