Fortnite takes on the CDL with new 4v4 UEFN events with Hardpoint and Capture the Flag

Once upon a time, it was Call of Duty who slapped back at Fortnite in a time when battle royales were prominent.

Warzone's emergence took a good chunk out of Fortnite's player count, forcing Epic Games to take a moment before reinventing the title. And what a job it has done.

Now, thanks to UEFN, Fortnite has asserted itself to the throne of the battle royale world, and it is coming after multiplayer shooters too, as ESL is launching official 4v4 tournaments to take on the Call of Duty League.

ESL is hosting 4v4 Fortnite UEFN tournaments to rival Call of Duty

Thanks to UEFN, Fortnite creators have been working on shooter game modes that have become staples of Call of Duty, such as Hardpoint and Capture the Flag.

Esteemed esports tournament organisers ESL are now hosting these maps on Faceit tournaments, with competitive maps 4v4 Capture the Flag, Hardpoint, and Shrinking Zone matches being available on a weekly basis.

This directly overlaps Call of Duty whose own official esports league plays 4v4 on Hardpoint, although Capture the Flag hasn't been a CDL game mode since World War II. 

ESL's involvement comes after they were snubbed the battle royale rights (and subsequently Rocket League's RLCS) amid Epic's deal with BLAST. 

Fortnite's UEFN maps could feature at the Esports World Cup

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What this does mean is that there is a push in Fortnite multiplayer, as ESL also owns DreamHack, and therefore it's likely that the battle royale will be snubbed for future events in favour of this respawn UEFN matches.

It could also see Fortnite Creative be the game mode showcased in the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia this year, over BR, as ESL and Faceit's parent company Savvy Gaming Group are the producers of this year's showcase in the Middle East.

Interestingly, while the Esports World Cup already has League of Legends, Rocket League, Counter-Strike, and more of the world's biggest esports signed up for the 2024 event, Call of Duty has not been named in the final line-up, making this possible Fortnite 4v4 mode the only multiplayer shooter in the multi-million-pound festival.

With Call of Duty faltering and esports personalities retiring, maybe this is the start of the Fortnite multiplayer revolution...