Fortnite Is Officially A High School And College Sport

Epic Games

Gamers can now get a Fortnite fix in school as the video game has officially been made a high school and college sport. 

Take that, nagging parents! Kids can no longer be accused of wasting time while playing Fortnite for hours on end because they can just claim they’re practising with the hope of making their school proud.

It’s the excuse gamers have been waiting years for, and they have LA-based startup PlayVS to thank.

The company has partnered with Fortnite creator Epic Games to bring competitive league play to the collegiate and high school level, meaning players can compete with other schools in the same way they can with sports like football.

By teaming up with Epic Games, PlayVS is able to make the competitions accessible with almost no effort on the part of competing schools. According to TechCrunch, gamers simply have to sign into PlayVS and get dropped into their scheduled match.

Once the game is over, PlayVS pulls statistics and insights directly from the match and makes them available to players, coaches, fans and recruiters, allowing those involved to see exactly what went down, similar to watching a sports game.

The competition will be played in teams of two, and organisations can submit as many teams as they like. The top teams will then be invited to the playoffs, with a chance to win a spot in the championship this May. Thanks to the partnerships with Epic Games, the first season of Fortnite competition will be free to registered users.

More than 13,000 high schools have reportedly joined the waiting list to get a varsity esports team through PlayVS. Registration for the first season closes on February 17 for high schools and February 24 for colleges and universities, with the season set to officially kick off on March 2.

Let the gaming begin!

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Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.