You can watch animated shorts on 'Fortnite' this weekend

If you spend time in Fortnite's no-combat mode Party Royale this weekend, you'll get to enjoy some animated shorts this weekend. The game is hosting its "Short Nite" film festival starting on February 20, at 11 a.m. PT or 2 p.m. ET, until the same time the next day. This 24-hour event will show a new short film in the Party Royale mode every 30 minutes.

According to Epic Games' press release, "The films were made by creators and directors from around the world, and feature several award-winning shorts, including winners of the Academy Awards, BAFTAs, and Emmys."

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Epic doesn't plan to hold in-person 'Fortnite' tournaments in 2021

Source: Epic Games

While the COVID-19 pandemic recovery remains uncertain, Epic Games has no plan to hold a 2021 Fortnite World Cup. Instead, its focus will be on the Fortnite Champion Series, with an emphasis on trios. But Epic still hopes physical tournaments will return at some point, and it is looking to experiment with other formats, too.

“We’re looking at other avenues for high-level competition 2021,” Epic says. “Beyond our biggest competitions, in 2021, we’re putting together a schedule featuring more weekly tournaments, unique tournaments, and Creator Cups throughout the year.”

Source: The Verge

Epic's new filing claims Apple 'has no rights to the fruits of Epic's labor'

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The messy legal battle between Epic Games and Apple rages on, and a new filing has the game developer firing back against the iPhone maker. Epic claims Apple "has no rights to the fruits of Epic's labor" in Friday's filing. 

Epic said, "Apple's repeated assertions of theft boil down to the extraordinary assertion that Epic's collection of payments by players of Epic's game to enjoy the work of Epic's artists, designers, and engineers is the taking of something that belongs to Apple." 

It reasoned that Epic couldn't "steal" sale proceeds since the product is from its creative efforts and that it didn't "interfere with any prospective economic advantage Apple sought to gain from Fortnite users separate and apart from their interest in Fortnite."

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Epic claims Apple 'cherry picked' data on 'Fortnite' and its popularity in latest filing

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After Apple accuses Epic Games of using its lawsuit to revitalize interest in Fortnite, the developer claims Apple "cherry picked" Google search results when it came to the game's popularity. Epic refutes Apple's claims that there's declining interest in Fortnite. It cites its user engagement data, saying "Over the period of time that Apple cherry-picked for its Google search volume comparison (between October 2019 and July 2020), the number of daily active users on Fortnite actually increased by more than 39%." 

Apple hasn't responded yet to Epic's latest filing. A full court hearing is scheduled for September 28. 

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