How do you plan on celebrating New Year’s? If you play Fortnite, odds are you’ve already celebrated New Year’s and will do so again. And again. And again.
Earlier today, players in a standard battle royale match witnessed the inconceivable: a giant disco ball descended from the heavens as fireworks lit up the sky, and every character started to boogie like it was 1979. For several seconds, gamers were trapped in a festive, and inescapable, armistice.
Since it’s not every day a Death Star-sized disco ball boogie bomb graces a Fortnite match, players were thrown for quite a loop. However, the explanation for this unusual event is quite simple: Epic Games wanted to celebrate the New Year in style.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: it’s still the morning of December 31st, 2018. Isn’t Epic Games’ celebration a little premature? Well, it’s still December 31st for you, but for people in a few other countries, it’s January 1st, 2019.
Shortly after the surprise celebration, Epic Game’s vice president Mark Rein took to Twitter to explain that Christmas Island and Kiribati celebrated New Year’s at the same time the boogie bomb dropped. Coincidence? Obviously not; that was the company’s intention.
Apparently, a boogie bomb will drop every hour, on the hour to celebrate New Year’s in a different country. As Rein stated in a recent tweet, “Fortnite is a very international game!” Given the game’s overseas popularity, some players would probably feel left out if the boogie bomb dropped only when each American time zone struck midnight. Think of all the Korean and German Fortnite players!
If you want to join in on the Fortnite festivities, you can always participate in a battle royale match and witness the giant Disco Ball of Dance firsthand. Alternatively, Twitch is full of Fortnite streamers, so you can always just pick your favorite and watch the fireworks live. Whichever you prefer, remember to have a fantastic New Year.
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