Back in January there was a Doctor Who event in Eve Online which from our perspective was a bit of a yawn so we didn't comment on it.

Now, however, the BBC have launched something much more interesting in Epic's Fornite Creative.

The Eve Online Event

For the benefit of non-gamers, Eve Online is one of the most popular and long-running massively online roleplaying games in the industry, having released all the way back in 2003.

In the MMO industry it's common for games to be shut down or for developers to go bust and have their games snapped up cheaply by someone else and re-opened under new management.

Eve has suffered neither ignominy and the MMO Populations website which tracks / estimates popularity currently ranks Eve as number 17.

So it's not completely crazy that the BBC would think to partner with them for an online event, but Eve Online isn't an especially comfortable fit for Doctor Who.

Eve is all about piloting ships in combat and it's a competitive (i.e. player-versus-player) game.

A notoriously hard-core one at that which has regularly made the news for the colossal real-world equivalent cost of losses - their record being just under $400 thousand (US) - suffered in conflicts.

Doctor Who is all about running away from conflict and if you can't, out-thinking them.

If you watch their promotional trailer you can see that this event boiled down to installing some special scanners on your ship and later combatting Dalek vessels.

That's Eve Online gameplay with a Doctor Who skin but not gameplay which would be especially appealing to the average Whovian.

The Fortnite Event

Unlike Eve, we haven't played Fortnite but have considered playing, checked it out and know what it is.

For starters, much more popular.

It's not an MMO so isn't ranked against Eve but Eve's total daily player count is in the 80 thousand region.

Fortnite currently has 3.1 million players online and courtesy of court proceedings, we know that they made just shy of $10 billion in their first few years of operation.

This is how Epic are able to afford to give away a free game each week in their attempt to compete with Steam.

While they do have a competitive game mode, Fortnite also has a co-operative build and defend mode which would be more to the tastes of the average Whovian.

Plus a creative mode which allows players to create their own worlds.

Interestingly this isn't an offical, Epic Games sponsored event.

Just as any player can, the BBC have created their own Doctor Who content in the game and made it available to everyone.

Players are tasked with repairing the Tardis, exploring several maps and solving puzzles.

These are activities which feel like they belong in a Doctor Who game.

The battle on Galifrey maybe less so, but for all that the Doctor disapproves of guns, they are sometimes in the company of others who use them.

Plus one of the maps is a Doctor Who museum.

That alone could be of sufficient interest to many Doctor Who fans to download and install Fortnite.

These five BBC created maps could be Doctor Who's first steps into the emerging metaverse and there are obvious monetization opportunities here.

Should these maps prove popular we wouldn't be surprised to see Doctor Who themed player skins - allowing players to look like different Doctors, companions or other prominent characters in the franchise.

We'll be watching this space with interest to see how this is received and develops.

[ Main Image: Doctor Who in Fortnite. Credit: BBC via YouTube. ]

References

Doctor Who (March 14, 2022). Discover Gallifrey in EVE Online! | Doctor Who. YouTube.

Doctor Who (March 17, 2022). The TARDIS Lands in Fortnite! | Doctor Who. YouTube.

DoctorWho.tv (March 17, 2022). How to play Doctor Who in Fortnite Creative

DoctorWho.tv (January 13, 2022). Join forces to fight the Daleks in online game EVE Online.

Messner, Steven (May 28, 2021). The 5 greatest moments in EVE Online history. PC Gamer.

MMO Populations. Eve Online. (viewed March 19, 2022)

MMO Populations. Most Played MMOs. (viewed March 19, 2022)

Valentine, Rebekah (May 4, 2021). Fortnite Made $9 Billion in Two Years, While Epic Games Store Has Yet to Turn a Profit. IGN.

Wikipedia. Eve Online. (viewed March 19, 2022)

Wikipedia. Fortnite. (viewed March 19, 2022)