Fortnite: more than a video game?

Fortnite tends to make headlines because of how many people play it and how much money it makes, but it’s much more interesting than that. In this episode we explore how Fortnite’s founders have created a new way of experiencing the world that is up against Netflix, Facebook, Google and Amazon in the battle over how you spend your free time.

You might not be a gamer, but the creators of Fortnite have a vision of the technology that is so ambitious there’s a chance you’re going to feel completely lost without it in five years’ time. It all depends on something called the “Metaverse”, an alternate digital reality where people live, work and socialise.

We speak to Matthew Ball about what that means. Matthew is a venture capitalist and former digital media executive. From 2016-2018 he was head of strategy for Amazon Studios. He writes for MediaREDEF and can be found online at @ballmatthew, or www.matthewball.vc. We also speak to 13 year old Charlie about what grownups get wrong about Fortnite.

Producers: Duncan Barber, Harriet Noble, Lucy Hancock Mixed by Weidong Lin Editor: John Shields