Fortnite Players Form Their Own Players Association
Published: Oct 8, 2019
A total of 16 professional Fortnite esports stars, including Fortnite individual World Cup winner Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, have come together to form the first Fortnite Professional Players’ Association (FNPPA).
The aim of the FNPPA is to allow players to have a greater and more unified voice when it comes to deciding the future path of Fortnite esports.
Who is the FNPPA?
A total of 16 players have been elected as board members of this new organisation with a selection of players picked evenly from the North American and European Fortnite professional scene.
The board includes members from the likes of 100 Thieves, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, Team SoloMid and NRG Esports. Fortnite World Cup winners Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf and David “Aqua” Wang (who was one of the winners of the duo tournament at the World Cup) comprise some of the members of this new organisation.
The aim of the FNPPA is to add further members to the board in the coming weeks and months ahead to collectively represent the views of the players with tournament organisers and the like.
Following Lead of CS:GO Professionals
The decision to set up the FNPPA echoes a similar decision made in 2018 by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players who formed their own Counter-Striker Professional Players Association that year.
The CSPPA has since begun to advise its members on the content of player’s contracts as well as raising issues with tournament organisers about the scheduling of esports tournaments and also the continuing fragmentation of the competitive professional scene in CS:GO esports.
It remains to be seen just how involved the FNPPA will become in the Fortnite scene, but it seems likely that acting as a unified voice, the FNPPA would want to be consulted on all of the key decisions that will govern the future of Fortnite as an esport.
Read Also: BETTING ON FORTNITE
Smoothing Out Problems
Another key role the FNPPA could play may be that of an organisation which could attempt to resolve some of the problems that have hit the competitive Fortnite esports scene in recent times, such as when Epic Games released a game-changing patch on the eve of a major competition, or the recent inclusion of the B.R.U.T.E mech suit in the game, that many felt destroyed the competitive balance of the title at the highest levels of the game.
It is also likely that the FNPPA would become involved in ensuring that players contracts with their employers are fair and legal, which would help avoid situations that have arisen in recent times, such as with Turner “Tfue” Tenney, who filed a suit against his team FaZe Clan alleging a number of violations against the team. This led to FaZe Clan countersuing Tenney for breach of contract. A dispute which at the time of writing, remains without a resolution.
The rapid rise of Fortnite as an esport was always likely to lead to issues and problems and it seems that by forming the FNPPA, Fortnite’s professional players ate taking active steps to ensure they have a powerful collective voice in the future of their favourite esport title.
[cta-box postid=”55″]Image courtesy of Epic Games
Since: August 10, 2015
