Entertainment

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Travis Scott performs live concert inside of the video game Fortnite, bringing light to the possible future of large venue events in coming months due to social distancing guidelines

Image Credits: EpicGames

As large venue events such as concerts, sporting events, and cinemas look to bring their events virtual to abide by social distancing guidelines in coming months, Epic Games hosted one of the largest online gaming events in history this past week. On Thursday night, more than twelve million players attended a virtual Travis Scott concert inside of the game Fortnite, a popular multi-platform video game, according to The Guardian. It is expected that many more viewers watched the event via streaming platforms like YouTube or Twitch. The audience surpassed the previous Fortnite music event, edging out the ten million players that attended a Marshmallow concert in February of 2019. Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, announced the event earlier this week, titling it “Astronomical.” ~

For the opening performance on Thursday, fans were instructed to enter the game at 6:30 EST to secure a place on the game’s servers before the 7pm start time. Players then congregated in front of the virtual stage built into the game world and the music started. Scott performed Highest in the Room and Sicko Mode, then the set exploded and the rapper appeared as a giant, towering over the Fortnite landscape. According to the Verge: “At one point everything was fiery and Scott turned into a cyborg; later it looked like everyone had been transported to Tron. When “Highest in the Room” came on, the crowd was submerged underwater, along with a giant spaceman. There were rollercoasters and psychedelic effects and at the end players were literally flying around the planet.” ~

The performance lasted around 10-15  minutes, and ended with a new song, a collaboration with Kid Cudi titled “The Scotts.” Players were able to collect Travis Scott themed skins and even flaming microphone stands during the event. After the premiere, Scott tweeted, “HONESTLY TODAY WAS ONE OF THE MOST INSPIRING DAYS. LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF U GUYS. AND I KNOW TIMES ARE WEIRD FOR US. BUT FOR ONE MOMENT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE RAGERS TO RAGE WHERE EVER YOU ARE IS AMAZING.” There will be other opportunities to tune in to the event on Fortnite – Friday at 3pm, and then Saturday at 5am, 4pm and 11pm. ~

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