Fortnite Pandemic Rap Fest Shows Future of Gaming

In these days of sheltering in place, music fans looking for live entertainment in a concert or large-group setting are pretty much out of luck. The best many can hope for are at-home performances of their favorite entertainers beamed through Zoom or on TV. In late April, though, followers of rapper Travis Scott became the exceptions, thanks to Epic Games Inc.’s Fortnite.

The video game — most of the time a battle-royale style contest where 100 players face off against each other in deadly combat on an island — was transformed into one of the world’s biggest concert venues, with the platform presenting new material from the rapper in a psychedelic show, “Astronomical.” Performing as a giant-sized avatar, Scott appeared in outlandish space and undersea scenes, with gamers able to simultaneously fly, swim or dance around him. In all, nearly 28 million people found mental refuge attending the concerts inside the game.