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If you still think of Fortnite<\/a> as a colorful, cartoony battle royale game, you might be surprised to learn the extent of Epic\u2019s true ambitions.<\/p>\n Fortnite\u2019s big, chaotic fight to the death matches may still get top billing, but Epic has steadily been expanding the horizons of its marquee game to be more of a game platform<\/em> than a simple standalone game. Fortnite\u2019s psychedelic live events, kaiju Ariana Grande concerts<\/a> and its endless user-generated sandbox worlds<\/a> were all hints about its final destination.<\/p>\n X may never be an everything app<\/a>, but Fortnite is already an everything game. And it just got a lot bigger.<\/p>\n Rapid fire over consecutive days last week, Epic launched three new games<\/a> within the game, starting with the survival title Lego Fortnite on Thursday. Fortnite Festival, a rhythm game from the studio behind Rock Band, and Rocket Racing, a fast-paced racing game from the makers of Rocket League followed quickly thereafter.<\/p>\n While Fortnite\u2019s regular modes like Zero Build and classic Battle Royale racked up respectable numbers over the weekend and people also dipped their toes into the other two new games, Lego Fortnite debuted on a whole different level.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Epic and Lego\u2019s new Minecraft\/Animal Crossing hybrid (more on that in our review later) peaked at 2.45 million concurrent players<\/a> shortly after launch. Over the weekend it consistently floated around those same lofty peaks and by Monday sat around 1.1 million players \u2014 itself an epic tally that would put plenty of hits on the Steam charts to shame. The live \u201cBig Bang\u201d event that introduced the trio of new games a little over a week ago saw 11.6 million concurrent players, attendance in the ballpark of Fortnite\u2019s live shows for artists like Marshmello or Travis Scott<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lego Fortnite is just one corner of Epic\u2019s multiverse, but it\u2019s clearly the hottest one at the moment. Fortnite\u2019s grand total of concurrent online players sits somewhere way above that (combining all Fortnite Creative modes, ranked play, Battle Royale, etc.) but mostly it\u2019s noteworthy that a family-friendly game in an entirely different genre is bringing in this much buzz. If Lego Fortnite can maintain its momentum with a steady drip of compelling content that deepens the game, its free-to-play, fun for the whole family multiplayer experience may have nowhere to go but up.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n