ESL FACEIT Group Reveals ‘ESL Featuring Fortnite’

ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) announced Thursday a new competitive gaming experience being developed in Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) aptly called “ESL Featuring Fortnite.” Working in collaboration with UEFN development studio 404 Creative, EFG will create a competitive Fortnite universe featuring “custom islands, new game modes, and a team-based format,” according to a release. 

This new endeavor is not officially endorsed by Fortnite owner Epic Games. The official competitive scenes for both Fortnite and Rocket League are currently run by rival tournament organizer BLAST.

Several professional esports teams are already committed to competing in ESL Featuring Fortnite including Karmine Corp., Team Heretics, ZETA Division, Dignitas, and an unlisted “mystery organization.” It is unclear how and if this new competitive scene will tie into the Esports World Cup this summer.

The gameplay in ESL Featuring Fortnite will offer what the company describes as “classic FPS” style gameplay, with 4vs4 teamplay, and competitive game modes such as Capture the Flag, Hardpoint, and Shrinking Zone, specialized character classes, storylines, and customized teamplay components.  

Finally, EFG said in its announcement that it will “create a closed-loop system to ensure a portion of the revenue” generated from this new endeavor is reinvested back into the community. This new experience will be played on its wholly owned competitive platform FACEIT.

EFG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Savvy Games Group, which is 100% owned and operated by the Saudi Arabian government, and Saudi Arabia’s ruler, HRH Crown Prince MBS is the company’s Chairman of the Board. EFG operates a number of esports and gaming festival companies including ESL, FACEIT, and DreamHack. Recently the company announced a five-year partnership with another Saudi-owned entity, Qiddiya City.

More details on actual gameplay can be found at fortnite.esl.com.