The free-to-play multiplayer game Fortnite has announced the launch of Blitz Royale, a new game mode similar to the traditional Battle Royale of the video game, which is specifically designed for mobile devices and lasts only five minutes. The launch comes one month after Fortnite officially returned to Apple’s App Store following an antitrust case victory in the US.

Fortnite is one of the most popular video games, with 650 million users worldwide and some 1.5 million daily active users, according to Exploding Topics. Moreover, while free to play, over three-quarters of its users have spent money on the game’s internal store.

The video game by Epic Games introduces a new game modality that will be available on all platforms and is aimed at users who wish to play “quickly and action-packed matches,” according to the company.

In this sense, Fortnite has announced that Blitz Royale is compatible with cross-play and has emphasised that its design is specifically optimised for mobiles, as it allows users to play matches of only five minutes, as seen in X.

Thus, this new Fortnite game mode is similar to the traditional Battle Royale of the video game, but its main difference is portability, as users will be able to enjoy quicker matches on their mobile devices, although it will also be available on the rest of the platforms. Furthermore, the number of concurrent players is reduced from 100 to 32 to make games faster.

Procedurally generated map

In the same way, Blitz Royale presents a roguelike style of play, that is to say, a subgenre of video games based on dungeons, which is characterised by generating levels in a procedural manner, an experience in which each decision has significant weight, as well as permanent or semi-permanent death or turn-based gameplay.

Alongside this mode, Epic Games has announced LEGO Fortnite Expeditions, which will allow the player to choose a branch of study in the Supernova Academy and join three other companions in cooperative missions, through which they will be able to earn points to become superheroes.

Fortnite back on Apple devices?

Epic Games has announced Blitz Royale, a new game mode, just one month after its return to Apple’s App Store. The launch follows a five-year ban and a series of legal battles over Apple’s antitrust practices, particularly its commission fees of up to 30% on in-app payments. Epic’s concerns were ultimately upheld by a US federal judge who ruled in favour of the Fortnite developer.

While Epic Games remained banned from the US App Store until last month, the company had already regained access to Apple’s App Store in the European Union a year ago.

Epic has not limited its efforts to challenging Apple. Last year, the company also proposed reforms to Google’s app store, aiming to improve competition and give businesses greater control over how they manage and offer in-app purchases.