Travis Scott has given us a new twist on the virtual concert in this era of social distancing. The rapper performed an interactive show within the Fortnite game, and it had a record 12.3 million taking part.
Last night the Houston born rapper launched Astronomical, which was touted by Epic Games as a “musical journey featuring Travis Scott,” and an “other-worldly experience inspired by Cactus Jack’s creations, built from the ground up in Fortnite.”
And by all accounts, it was a massive success with a record number of fans tuning in.
With 12.3 million people logging on for the concert, it eclipsed the previous record of 10 million Fortnite users who logged on for a Marshmello show last year. It’s also estimated that a further 3 million streamed the event.
In what was a surreal yet spectacular show full of graphics and colorful psychedelic effects, Scott used all of the Fortnite island map for the show. Scott also morphed into a cyborg and a giant during the virtual performance.
Record-breaking 12 million logged on to the interactive concert
Fortnite took to Twitter to announce the success of the venture and the record-breaking feat. They wrote: “Over 12.3 million concurrent players participated live in Travis Scott’s Astronomical, an all-time record!”
Over 12.3 million concurrent players participated live in Travis Scott's Astronomical, an all-time record!
Catch an encore performance before the tour ends: https://t.co/D7cfd2Vxcc
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) April 24, 2020
A video posted by Travis Scott on his YouTube channel gives you a taste of what it was like, but you really needed to log into the game to get a real feel for the interactive surrealness of it all. Luckily there are other concerts planned, so don’t worry if you missed out.
It definitely proved very popular with Fortnite fans, with many taking to social media to register their appreciation. One fan even asked, “was this Travis Scott event the best Fortnite event of all time?
Fans took to Twitter to praise Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert
Was this Travis Scott event the best Fortnite event of all time? ? pic.twitter.com/ohV62VhbLp
— Fortnite Funny (@FortniteFunny) April 24, 2020
Many fans think that Fortnite is really ahead of the curve compared with other games.
Just watched the Travis Scott Fortnite Concert that thing was lit as fuck no way any other games are going to overtake Fortnite from a casual perspective as long as they keep coming up with this shit
— SangioPope (@Sangioooo) April 24, 2020
Even folks who don’t like Fortnite appeared to appreciate last night’s show; with one such user said they were not a fan of the game but “would love to see more of this!!”
I personally dont like @fortnite… BUT DAMN THAT @trvisXX SCOT EVENT WAS INSANE ? Would love to see more of this!!
— Juan Sim (@JuanSimmerTW) April 24, 2020
“No video game will ever top this,” said another Twitter user.
No video game will ever top this—Fortnite x Travis Scott concert! pic.twitter.com/1s0mifGzgy
— Nick Eh 30 (@NickEh30) April 24, 2020
Things seem to be going well for Travis Scott this month; earlier, he got back together with his reality star girlfriend, Kylie Jenner. The couple had previously been an item for two years and even had a daughter together but had broken up last year.
Meanwhile, Fortnite has often included pop culture links — for example earlier this year when it introduced a Deadpool skin to their Battle Royale game.
Expect to see many more collaborations between Fortnite and other musicians, celebrities, and other entertainment franchises as the year continues.