Fortnite’s 2017 official release still feels like this timeline’s canon event, as it has merged almost all billion-dollar franchises into one shop, locker room, and island. Singlehandedly taking over the industry with its larger-than-life collaborations, Fortnite was revolutionary for its gameplay first and foremost.
At its core, the combination of third-person shooters with platform building saved the world of gaming by revolutionizing the genre. This naturally led to the creation of the official competitive league, the Fortnite Championship Series.
Since its 2019 inception, the FNCS has awarded more than $100 million in prize pool money across seven years, and it’s not looking to slow down anytime soon, with Epic Games putting $10 million up for grabs for its 2026 season.
Peaking in viewership for the third consecutive year, the highest level of Fortnite competitive has it all except one thing: Zero Build. Fortnite's Zero Build mode was released on March 29, 2022, as an LTM for Season 2’s Chapter 3, but its popularity spread like wildfire, forcing Epic Games’ hand into a permanent stay just a month later.
Zero Build still sees a massive influx of players every day, especially peaking during major events or new season launches, with numbers repeatedly in the millions. That is because the lack of building mechanics leaves core gameplay as an excellent entry point for new and returning players alike, removing complex tutorials and allowing full focus on traditional shooter skills that translate quite easily from other titles. This, plus its incomparable catalogue of IP crossovers, makes ZB a juggernaut in the shooter field.
So it begs the question, why isn’t Fortnite Zero Build a part of the FNCS? While it was designed as a casual seasonal mode, the numbers don’t lie about its popularity and replayability. Currently, ZB draws more concurrent players in single queues, making it the preferred playlist for solo users in ranked and unranked settings.
This necessity for official ZB competition launched Fortnite into hosting in-game Cash Cups, scheduled tournaments for real money that were unfortunately discontinued quite quickly due to rampant cheating in an otherwise untested competitive engine.
As a result, all official prize-pool events ceased, leaving third-party organizers to handle the heavy lifting of hosting events and financing the ZB competitive scene. Though still waiting on an official report, Fortnite's 2025 revenue is expected to be between $4.7 billion and $6.1 billion, leaving money out as an excuse for Zero Build FNCS’ snub.
It would be as simple as adding a parallel FNCS Zero league. It could start as showmatches between eliminated orgs, returning retired pros, shooter streamers, and even pop culture household names. You could then shift it into a full-blown FNCS-regulated competition with its own prize pool, format, and stream. This would turn the league into what it was always meant to be, the esports Olympics with Build Trios, Build Duos, and Zero Solos.
Fortnite’s popularity is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and taking its building mechanics isn’t threatening its uniqueness; it's making the global product a universal one with greater reach and bigger deals. Almost a decade after its release, Fortnite is no longer referred to as the building shooter. Instead, it has earned its right in the gaming dictionary, and expanding its definition is its next clear step.
Adding an official Zero Build esport league would even make similar titles push harder to stay relevant with better features, frequent updates, and fresh shooter mechanics. Maybe Epic Games is showing other shooter esports mercy by not holding its own Fortnite Zero Build league, but it doesn’t sound like them to leave money on the table. Epic Game$, am I right?
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