Epic won't hold in-person Fortnite events in 2021 due to coronavirus
Valve ditches CS:GO Major, too.
Epic has cancelled all Fortnite in-person events in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Epic said it had no intention of holding in-person events during 2021, including a Fortnite World Cup. It will however run online competitions next year.
"Our intent is to eventually hold global in-person tournaments again, but our priority for any such event is the health and safety of our players and staff," Epic said in a blog post.
"With so much still unknown about what is practical and safe, we do not plan to hold in-person events in 2021, including a Fortnite World Cup. We will continue to provide online competitions throughout 2021 with the hopes that physical events, in some form, can return at some point in the future."
Meanwhile, Valve has scrapped plans to host a 2021 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive spring Major tournament.
According to HLTV.org, while Valve did not point to the pandemic as the reason for the decision, it's fair to assume it had a lot to do with it. In September, Valve announced it would postpone Majors until "Regional Major Ranking (RMR) LAN events are safe to hold around the world". The next CS:GO Major is set for Autumn 2021, but is subject to change.
Coronavirus infections and hospitalisations hit record-highs in the US this week, with the number of people in hospital passing 100,000 for the first time. 2637 deaths were recorded in the US on 4th December alone.