Last week during a media conference held at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, Epic Games announced that its self-developed game, Fortnite, will enter Open Beta on 23 January in South Korea. Of course, the super-popular Battle Royale mode will be made available as well. This is also the first time Epic Games is self-launching a game in South Korea, and Fortnite will be the start of the company’s own stable of games. The base game will still be sold at a price during official launch, while Battle Royale mode will stay free.
The gaming industry is awaiting with excitement to see how Fortnite will fare against PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, published in South Korea by Kakao Games. With no plans for a console launch yet, Epic Games Korea also stated they are looking to enter esports through Fortnite if the number of users is “secure”. While Korean players are currently playing in the Asia server with acceptable ping, Epic Games teased there will be a local server during official launch. Promotions are being prepared to be held with local PC bangs.