Fortnite Offering $8 Million In Big Esports Event

Recently, Epic Games announced that it will offer $100 million in prize pool money for Fortnite competitive tournaments in 2018 and 2019, and now we've learned where some of that will go. The company has announced the "Summer Skirmish" series, which is an eight-week run of events where people will compete for a share of $8 million in prize money.

This series kicks off this weekend with a $250,000 Duos competition. The specifics are not immediately clear, but Epic said "community creators" and regular Fortnite players who have "demonstrated their competitive prowess" will be invited to participate.

Invitations went out already for this first Summer Skirmish series, but Epic said in the future it will communicate the details on how you can qualify for future skirmishes. "The format and competitors may change from week-to-week, so stay on your toes," Epic said.

The $100 million in prize money for Fortnite's 2018-2019 competitive season is more than double the $38 million in total prize money that Valve's Dota 2 paid out in 2017 across all of its tournaments, according to E-Sports Earnings (via CNBC). The International, which is Valve's massive Dota 2 event, paid out the biggest prize pool in gaming history last year with almost $25 million for the single event. For another point of comparison, the inaugural Overwatch League tournament will pay out a total of $3.5 million in prize money for its entire season.

Fortnite brings in more than $1 million every single day from its mobile version alone, according to SensorTower; Epic makes even more money from the console and PC editions. The game is free, but players can spend real money on cosmetics (which do not impact gameplay whatsoever).

In other Fortnite news, the game's much-anticipated Season 5 kicks off on July 12--and we're expecting big things. Here's a rundown of everything you need to know.

Fortnite Season 5 Coverage:

• Fortnite Season 5 Is Live
• Fortnite Season 5 Patch Notes Include New Vehicle, Map Areas, Rifts
• Fortnite Season 5: All The Skins, Back Bling, Contrails, Gliders
• Fortnite Season 5 Battle Pass: Every Reward
• Fortnite Season 5 Battle Pass: Skins, Price, Free V-Bucks, And How It Works
• Fortnite Season 5 Update Adds Nintendo Switch Motion Controls
• Fortnite Challenge Guide: Where To Search Floating Lightning Bolts
• Fortnite Challenge Guide: Where To Find Risky Reels Treasure Map
• Fortnite Offering $8 Million In Big Esports Event