Yeah, the idea that Fortnite is somehow "designed by committee" or less legitimate when Epic has spent the last 20 years iterating Unreal Tournament and Gears of War is ridiculous.

Epic knows how to make a hit game. Their games are almost always extremely well made and fun. Gears of War pretty much invented the cover mechanic in most modern shooters. To denigrate them just sounds out of touch, frankly.

I played Fortnite for a few hours because, hey, it's free, and it definitely has Unreal's genes with some building and last-man-standing techniques piled on top.

The difference in skill between me and the players who won was outstanding, just like it was back when I used to play UT after school. It's a solid game.