Fortnite is to blame for to 5% of UK divorces this year

Emma Sims September 17, 2018

Fortnite, the game that’s become a viral hit, has been a contributing factor in 5% of UK divorces this year. In a report from divorce service Divorce Online, no less than 200 divorce petitions filed in the UK since the beginning of 2018 cite Fortnite as a reason for parting ways.

Fortnite is to blame for to 5% of UK divorces this year

For its part, Divorce Online is a website offering information to couples who are splitting up. It bills itself as one of the largest filers of divorce petitions for the UK, and was recently shocked to find that, of the 4,665 it had handled, 200 of these pertained to Fortnite, a statistic that roughly equates to 5%.

As for the game itself, Fortnite has hit headlines in recent months as its popularity ravages the internet. Ask anybody, and they’ll: a) have heard of it; b) know someone completely and utterly addicted to it. When I tabled this story with colleagues, it went down with wry, knowing smiles. “Jilted Towers,” sniggered one of them – an allusion to the game’s well-known “Tilted Towers” location.

The online video game, which is free to download, was first released back in 2017, and has careered from success to success since. As of June 2018, the game had amassed roughly 125 million players across the globe. Many of these are regular players; over 40 million log in every month.

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As for quite how Fortnite is causing marriages to collapse, the site didn’t quite detail. One would have to speculate, however, that it pertains to its highly addictive nature. While the affliction ostensibly sounds like something from r/nottheonion, it’s no light-hearted matter.

As the internet age rattles on, addictions and afflictions shift accordingly. Excessive online gaming can cause individuals to withdraw from their families, inculcating a sense of isolation on both sides that’s hard to emerge from. Check your internet usage, and check in with your family.