Fortnite's giant hand event was a return to the game's uniqueness of old

This weekend, Fortnite simultaneously did something it had never done before, and something it hadn't done in ages. On the game's storied battle royale Island, players looked on as a giant hand made out of rapidly-cooling lava burst out of the ground, clasping an enormous treasure box that then lay, danging, high up in the air.

The hand's appearance had been much anticipated. Rhythmic rumblings had been tracked by fans to a spot outside Ruined Reels — a sort-of Greek amphitheature turned open-air cinema — and a slowly widening crack in the ground nearby. A new character, the aptly-named Odyssey, had already appeared nearby to dole out some much-needed exposition and teasing for Fortnite's incoming Ancient Greek-themed new season. And outside the game, dataminers quickly discovered what was about to happen and posted it all on social media. The stage was set.

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So when the hand emerged, people knew what to do. That big box? It could be opened, if the chains around it were broken. And so players got to work. Some ignored Fortnite's normal battle royale rules completely, sticking instead to simply landing on the Island and shooting/pickaxing the chest's restraints, breaking them over the course of several hours, one-by-one. Others, predictably, decided to capitalise on all this by setting up camp nearby and sniping those trying to open the box. Debate raged about player etiquette — something which took me back to the outrage at people who wiped out upwards of 50-players at once as they settled in to watch Fortnite's first ever in-game event, the rocket launch, back in 2018.

Fortnite The Hand Cinematic Event The hand emerges.

So yes, for the first time ever, Fortnite had a giant molten hand sticking out of its Island. And for the first time in what felt like a very long time, Fortnite had a proper interactable event going on its main Island.