Epic Games Will Provide $100,000,000 to Fund Prize Pools for Fortnite Competitions

The company announced the news on Monday.

Epic Games will provide $100 million to tournament prize pools for Fortnite competitions in the first year of competitive play, the company announced Monday.

“Since the launch of ‘Fortnite Battle Royale,’ we’ve watched the passion for community competition grow and can’t wait to empower you to battle with the best,” the announcement read. “In the 2018 – 2019 season, Epic Games will provide $100,000,000 to fund prize pools for ‘Fortnite’ competitions. We’re getting behind competitive play in a big way, but our approach will be different — we plan to be more inclusive, and focused on the joy of playing and watching the game.”

Fortnite is the biggest free-to-play console game ever, according to research company SuperData. Players spent nearly $223 million on the game in March alone, up 73% from February.

Epic said it will release details about competitive structures and eligible players in the coming weeks.

$100 million is the most money awarded to competitors, beating the previous amount of $38 million provided to competitors playing "Dota 2." "Counter-Strike" and "League of Legends" awarded $19 million and $12 million, respectively.