While the battle royale genre in gaming may have been pioneered by PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, it was Fortnite that brought it to the masses, becoming a full-blown pop culture phenomenon. That level of popularity is now so insane, it’s been cited as the cause of a growing number of divorce filings.
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A UK divorce resource site called Divorce Online recently published a report showing that more than 200 couples who filed for divorce in 2018 listed Fortnite and other games as a reason for it.
“These numbers equate to roughly 5% of the 4,665 petitions we have handled since the beginning of the year and as one of the largest filers of divorce petitions in the UK, is a pretty good indicator,” a Divorce Online spokesperson wrote in a blog post.
That’s a lot of partners who are so angry at being neglected because of Fortnite, they went right ahead and broke off their relationships entirely. Wild stuff. “Addiction to drugs, alcohol and gambling have often been cited as reasons for relationship breakdowns but the dawn of the digital revolution has introduced new addictions,” the spokesperson wrote.
In other words, Fortnite is just a different kind of vice in the modern age, and if it wasn’t that game, it would probably be another. It likely won’t be long until another one takes its place, either.
Now that the genre is continuing to grow, it’s definitely solidified itself into gaming today. Both Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V have their own takes on the genre coming this year, but we’ll have to wait and see whether they’ll be addictive enough to cause 5 per cent of a nation’s divorces.
