Fortnite Is So Popular That It's Inspired Real-World Sports Celebrations

Fortnite: Battle Royale is immensely popular, and it's growing bigger still. The game has truly broken out, becoming popular beyond gaming circles alone. The latest example of this comes in the form of celebrations from National Rugby League (NRL) players in Australia, among other sports leagues.

The first weekend of NRL just wrapped up, and, amazingly, three players--on three separate teams--each celebrated tries by imitating a popular animation from Fortnite. Check out the clips below to see players like Josh Dugan of the Cronulla Sharks and Blake Ferguson of the Sydney Roosters pretending to bandage themselves up as one does in Fortnite. New Zealand Warriors player Bunty Afoa did this as well.

Kotaku AU, which spotted the celebrations, wonders if the three players are squadmates and coordinated their celebrations this weekend. That does seem possible.

Whatever the case, Fortnite has become something of a phenomenon. Seemingly more of the talk and buzz surrounding the battle royale genre lately is about Fortnite rather than PUBG, the game that inspired it. We've even begun to wonder if PUBG could be in trouble as a result.

Beyond the rugby scene, soccer players have also taken to Fortnite-inspired celebrations. That includes finishing off a player with the pickaxe and generally swinging that pickaxe around. You can see both of those celebrations in the videos below (via SB Nation).

In other Fortnite news, Xbox boss Phil Spencer and developer Epic want to see cross-play support between PS4 and Xbox One added to the game. Unfortunately, Sony apparently will not allow it. Additionally, Fortnite is coming to mobile devices with 100-player battles and cross-play support with consoles.

This story has been updated and corrected.