The 2021 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Ongoing Game
With each passing year, ongoing games are becoming a much bigger part of the video game industry, and 2021 had no shortage of titles that players kept coming back to. Games like Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, and Genshin Impact have found huge audiences, and their developers found a number of ways to continue that growth. Notably, 2021 was a big year for Final Fantasy XIV, which saw a huge influx of players thanks to popular Twitch streamers like Asmongold. However, there was one ongoing game that managed to overtake all the rest this year. And the winner of the 2021 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Ongoing Game is...
After several years on the market, it's surprising that Fortnite continues to draw in record audiences, but the ongoing game showed no signs of slowing down in 2021. The game offered some of its biggest events ever, and added some of the coolest skins yet. Characters like Carnage, Rick Grimes, and Naruto Uzumaki all appeared in the game, adding to the franchise melting pot Fortnite is known for. The game even added Spider-Man, giving players an awesome new web-slinging mechanic, just in time for the release of No Way Home.
Of course, the biggest addition to the game this year might have been Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The wrestler-turned-actor shocked fans when he appeared at the end of Chapter 2, appearing in the game as the long-hyped Foundation. There's still a lot left to learn about the role he'll play in the game's narrative, but The Rock's debut made for one of 2021's most memorable moments.
There were a lot of impressive things Fortnite managed to do this year, but one of the biggest is the fact that it got players into comic shops. There have been countless video game and comic tie-ins over the years, but Epic Games and DC Comics took great advantage of Fortnite's popularity through the crossover series Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point. Each issue of the physical comic included DLC for the game, and players could get an exclusive skin by purchasing the entire series. It was a stroke of genius, and it just might have helped introduce new readers to the medium.
While Fortnite is a melting pot for pop culture, the game continues to have its own influence. During this year's Fortnitemares event, cosplay characters based on skins appeared at Universal Studios Hollywood's CityWalk alongside the Battle Bus. In another genius marketing move, the cosplay characters that appeared at the park coincided with their availability in the game's store.
From the quality of its content, to its impact on popular culture, it's impossible to deny just how big Fortnite was in 2021. Epic Games will have a difficult time topping everything that happened this year, but the publisher continues to find new ways to keep players invested. More than any other title this year, it truly deserves the award for Best Ongoing Game!
Congrats to the Fortnite team for their Golden Issue Awards win!
And the nominees for Best Ongoing Game are:
Apex Legends
Call of Duty: Warzone
Final Fantasy XIV: Online
Fortnite -- WINNER
Genshin Impact