Fortnite, the freakishly popular battle-royale video game, has just debuted its fifth season, which, including a Battle Pass, features new lore in the form of an in-game missile launch and landmarks disappearing from the map in exchange for new props that hail from the past.
But players had a heads up for season five, thanks to a leaker that goes by Fortrise (@fortrisen on Twitter). With 100K followers on Instagram, he's accrued a massive following, admiration and credibility, thanks to his leaks panning out with the new season.
He's rolled out plenty of juicy surprises for us that Epic Games may have preferred to keep under wraps.
So how does he do it? And why? And why Fortnite? Today, we sit down with him to talk about leaks, life, and the love of the game.
TheCelebrityCafe: First, I’d like you to tell me how you first got into Fortnite. What drew you to it as a player?
Fortrise: Fortnite is a game we all know about. So I don’t have to explain the game at this point. As a person who would usually go around and see people who I look up to playing such a good game is what made me who I am today. The influencers on social media, without a doubt, really do play a big role in this game. They have their audience, kids and adults, of all ages that they can drag them into following their path [of] doing what they’re doing and what they love with an ease. Therefore, they create such a big community for a well-known game. And I personally found out about the game on YouTube, which made me go Check it out because my favorites [YouTubers] were doing that.
TCC: So now that season five’s been out a few days, what do you think of it? Did it live up to expectations?
Fortrise: For me, as a person who is considered an “og” and being through the ride from early January and seeing all of this change is crazy. I mean, seeing the in-game rifts going from location to location, consuming items and dropping historic items is pretty crazy. Once season five was out, everyone was not ready for the big change. It all happened just like a snap of a finger, right off the bat. Now the game holds a Desert biome with brand new vehicles. And to what I’ve heard, the rift in the sky is now raining snow and sand? That possibly hints at not only an extended desert biome but also a snow biome. Definitely, it was fun! But yet, the game holds so many surprises for us and we can’t wait for what’s next!
TCC: That’s exciting to hear!
Fortrise: Indeed.
TCC: I would be a bad journalist if I didn’t ask you about where you get your information. Your leaks about the bones, the stagecoach, etc. have all panned out now. Is there anything you can tell me about how you get your info?
Fortrise: So it all started with the missile launch. The portals about the bones and the stagecoach were all linked to the files of the missile. It was pretty obvious. It was sitting there, waiting for someone to find them. It blew me away that actually no other person who had experience with data mining found out about them when it was so clear—and by the way, many were actually searching the missile files. Yet no one has found them, and having the credit for such an easy thing is incredible, especially with the outcome. I was featured in many YouTubers’ [videos] with millions and millions of subscribers and I will always be thankful and cherish the moments and the outcome.
TCC: Speaking of which, let’s-player Ali-A, who you’ve said you look up to, dropped your name in a recent Fortnite stream. What was that like?
Fortrise: I honestly freaked out. It was midnight at my time. I got tons of messages and I still didn’t believe it. I mean, I was always a fan of him since [he played] Minecraft and Call of Duty, and if someone was in my place, they will obviously freak out. I was speechless, I didn’t know what to say or what to do next. I had to stay up for another hour (until 5 a.m.) to realize what was actually happening is reality! The next day, I went to my Twitter and Instagram to show my appreciation. Had to take a night off to be at my best! Haha!
TCC: That sounds amazing. So, going back to Fortnite, what do you think explains the game’s massive popularity?
Fortrise: Fortnite was always there. It took it a few months to reach the popularity standards. The trend was last-man-standing survival games at the moment, including the well-known game PlayerUnknown’s Battle Grounds. Personally, I think there are a lot of incredible games out there that get no attention or recognition because of the popularity standards and the social numbers game. And I think Fortnite having advertisement boosts and YouTubers play the game did the job for them.
TCC: So Fortnite’s popularity was largely a case of “right place, right time?”
Fortrise: Correct. But I also think the game developers did a great job by expanding their game with storylines and such that shows they took their game into a whole new level and are trying their best to extend its popularity time, so they also get the credit for that, of course. But every game will come to an end at some point! This also gives me a boost and inspires me to take my audience throughout my journey and try to expand the community that looks up to me. Like I always want people to think about the future. You got what you wanted, now what? Think of the future!
TCC: This sounds like the way a game developer would think, if I’m honest. Do you develop games on the side?
Fortrise: I’ve had previous experience with developers. We had a long, much-needed talk about the future of their games and such. I was once a community manager of a small game, and that’s all.
TCC: Which game?
Fortrise: Pixel Worlds.
TCC: I’ll give it a play!
Fortrise: Sure. It’s a good mobile game, to be honest.
TCC: I’ll definitely check it out. So, you’ve worked with developers, you’ve worked with games, but you’ve also endorsed Twitch streamers on your Twitter and you host giveaways. All this, to me, says you love both the Fortnite community and the gaming industry. Is that fair to say?
Fortrise: The community holds a lot of talented and such supportive individuals. I love Fortnite and the gaming community as a whole.
TCC: The gaming community can be wonderful, but the press it generates, not so much. Doubtlessly you’ve seen news stories of children becoming “addicted” (their words) to Fortnite. Do you have any comment on that?
Fortrise: Yeah, I hear that a lot. Like you would never know how long you would live for, you never know when is the day. I would love to see children going outside and living their life because life is beautiful, and the kids have so much to live for and experience.
TCC: So you’re in support of the worried parents of these children? I just want to clarify, because not many within the gaming community would take their side.
Fortrise: Yes, I am in support of the worried parents. Gaming is okay, as long as it’s in limited hours. And that’s what I do personally. I game on limited hours, one or two max. If I game more, then that’s a special treat for achieving something.
TCC: I haven’t seen a lot of discipline like that in gaming. I’ve seen a lot of “I only have a few hours because I work, so I’ll enjoy it,” but not a lot of self-imposed time constraints. Why did you start limiting your time?
Fortrise: So, personally, and as I said before, life and time on this earth is limited. So live each day as it's your last! Give everything a chance. Give an hour for work, give an hour for music, take a break, walk outside, read a book, surf the internet, do research, hang out with a friend, go to a movie date! Do things that make you happy, but don’t take the whole day. Limit the hours so everything has its chance.
TCC: I really like that philosophy. You definitely sound like a little bit of a Renaissance man. In addition to all your work with games, you started up a Patreon, though you have pledged 10 percent of the funds you receive to charities that fight world hunger. Can you explain your decision behind that?
Fortrise: There are innocent and tortured children and angels who are out there, living a life filled with tears and horror in the streets alone! Really is heartbreaking. They lost everything they had and I say we are all responsible. I believe in the beauty of love and peace, and throughout my journey, I aim to always encourage people to share love, light and peace. It’s something that grew in me. Like putting out there that I am doing charity work could have been done low-key without letting anyone know, but I made it really clear and obvious so people who look up to me feel encouraged to do the same as well!
TCC: That’s very admirable of you.
Fortrise: Thank you.
TCC: Okay, so very recently you announced the creation of your YouTube channel. What are your plans for it? Gameplay, leaks, theories, etc.? What can we look forward to watching?
Fortrise: So as I’ve said I did actually question myself. Like I have 100k Instagram followers, almost 10k on Twitter, now what? If Fortnite goes down, then I go down with it. So I wanted to push and take my community to a whole new level of news and leaks discussions. There will also be gameplays. That’s all I can say for now, but there are a lot of things planned and the best is yet to come!
TCC: Can we look forward to seeing you branch out from Fortnite to other games, or is that top secret?
Fortrise: No, it’s not. I’ll definitely branch out and find more of an audience and expand the community as much as I can. And I believe in order to do so I have to be good. When I first had the thought of the channel, I never thought of the money that comes out of it. I wanted to expand, I wanted…a challenge, I wanted to compete and to reach a whole new audience and be able to create my own community. Then use that community to have a voice to fight with and for love!
TCC: What do you plan to fight against?
Fortrise: The discrimination we’re living with. Everyone deserves their freedom and their rights. Everyone deserves to feel loved, to be loved, to know that they are beautiful and important and that we care about them no matter who they are, what they believe in or where they come from.
TCC: I really think YouTube will benefit from a voice like yours. Do you have anything else you’d like to add as we wrap up?
Fortrise: I want to thank you first for giving me an opportunity to express and talk about who I am. Then I want to thank everyone for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be who I am now and the ability to branch out. Then I would like to remind you and everyone who’s read that they are worth it! So keep dreaming big because the impossible is possible! God bless, keep spreading love and positivity!