Fortnite’s Rift Tour concert featuring Ariana Grande is a surprisingly human Metaverse experience.
I wanted to start this piece with a little optimism. I wanted to wax about how excited I was to go to my first in-person event since the lockdowns started last year — to be in a crowd again, to be surrounded by colleagues eating delicious snacks and talking about video games together face-to-face. I bought my first train ticket in nearly two years and headed out to New York City to attend a concert… sort of. I was on my way to see the Fortnite Rift Tour, a digital Ariana Grande concert that takes place entirely within the battle royale game. I don’t need to tell you that things are not back to “normal” yet. Despite what we may think or want to believe. I can’t and won’t say that things are better or if things are going to be worse, all I know is that life is still different. This was very clear to me when I walked into the venue that Epic Games booked for its Fortnite Rift Tour press event. The venue had tall ceilings, loud echoey walls, and wide-open spaces meant to be filled with art, music, food, and about 200 people. There was art and food there, and music too, of course. However, besides the crew that worked tirelessly to get this event off the ground, there were only six members of the press there, myself included. This was of course done with safety in mind. While New York City has relaxed its lockdown regulations, Epic Games wanted to err on the side of caution. After talking to some folks at the event, I learned that this experience was indeed meant to fill this entire venue. It was only a couple of days before it happened that Epic decided to switch it to be a more socially distant experience. We sat down, at least one empty desk between us as a buffer, put on our headphones, and entered into the Fortnite Metaverse. During this event, I experienced more than mind-bending music and flair; I was reminded how important the human spirit is in times of adversity. At the top of the event, I got to deck my Fortnite character out in various bling, including the new Ariana Grande outfit. I chose a knight, as someone else already picked her outfit. Something about Ariana Grande performing in Fortnite to a crowd of Ariana Grandes felt off to me so I am glad we avoided that existential conundrum.
