N

othing screams dystopia more than two

massive corporations conscripting their

massive audiences into a petty legal war.

No viewer should care which studio controls

which Marvel movie rights. No consumer should

take a side in the ongoing war between Apple and

Epic Games over Fortnite direct payments. And

yet here we are, sighing while Epic adds Marvel

characters to Fortnite to rub iOS players’ noses in

what they are missing due to Apple’s

stubbornness. #FreeFortnite.

Despite its cynical strategy, Epic’s stance is closer

to the honest future of gaming, at least

philosophically. Apple is the champion of the

closed platform. But as walls collapse and

platforms blur together, the path forward

becomes a path we all share. The gaming

singularity has nearly arrived.

TEAR DOWN THIS WALL

Consider how Fortnite, battle royales, and other

live Games-as-a-Service maintain their massive

multiplayer audiences. They merge them. Not

that long ago, the idea of PlayStation players

competing against Nintendo or Xbox players was

unheard of, even if they were all playing the same

Consoles, Mobile, and PCs

Have Merged: The Gaming

Singularity Is Here

PCMag Software

analyst Jordan Minor

was senior editor for

Geek.com and a

PCMag intern before

that. He has written

for Kotaku, The A.V.

Club, and Cards

Against Humanity.

COMMENTARY

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