Borderlands Dev Is Publishing Epic's Fortnite On Disc In Europe

Gearbox Software, the studio behind Borderlands, and Koch Media are partnering to publish Epic's sandbox survival game Fortnite on disc. The game will be available at retail in Europe from July 21 for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4.

"Buyers of the retail version will receive the Founder's Pack of loot, weapons, and heroes as well as a four-day head start in playing Epic Games' Action Building game ahead of its July 25, 2017 digital release," reads a press release.

Those who want to play it digitally can download it from July 25. Those who pre-ordered or purchase the Deluxe, Super Deluxe, or Limited Editions, however, can access the game starting July 21. Epic previously confirmed that Fortnite will go free-to-play in 2018.

Fortnite was first announced at the Video Game Awards in December 2011, with Cliff Bleszinski (who has since left Epic) introducing a trailer for the game. Epic CEO Tim Sweeny previously summed up Fortnite as "sort of Minecraft meets Left 4 Dead."

When GameSpot's Peter Brown played Fortnite he found himself won over by the game.

"Epic seems to have done the impossible: it's managed to make a game about gathering and crafting appealing to me, someone who typically avoids games built on similar foundations," he said in his Fortnite preview.

"Giving players agency over their environment and fortifications makes the tower defense side of the game immensely intriguing, and I actually enjoy looking for resources because the world is both good looking and varied. There's a mysterious quality to Fortnite's abandoned locations, and I like the idea of repurposing humanity's leftovers to build giant forts and craft weapons for battle. Were Fortnite just about building or combat, it wouldn't be anything special. As it turns out, it's more exciting than I ever imagined it would be."