Survival game Fortnite cited in 5% of online divorces in UK – survey

Video games have long sparked controversy in the court of public opinion, being blamed for societal ills such as violence, school truancy, credit card fraud, cultural appropriation – and now divorce.

According to research released by divorceonline.co.uk, more than 200 divorce filings since January 2018 have cited the wildly popular survival video game as the reason for the breakdown of the marital relationship.

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Traditionally, the most common reasons cited for divorce were drug and alcohol abuse and gambling addiction. However, in the 21st century, vices have digitized and now include online pornography, online gaming and social media addiction.

“It is no surprise to us that more and more people are having relationship problems because of our digital addictions,” a spokesperson for the agency DivorceOnline said in a statement.

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“Fortnite is all over the news right now as one of the most addictive digital games ever played [but] it’s not only teenagers that are being affected by its drug-like qualities.”

Roughly 5 percent of the 4,665 respondents to a Divorce Online survey cited the popular video game as the reason for the break-up. The game has long been mired in controversy, including a widelypublicized ‘cultural appropriation’ scandal for the in-game dances performed by characters.

Just one year after its release, Fortnite hit 125 million players globally across both mobile and console platforms and now boasts roughly 40 million monthly players. One directory alone tracks the individual player statistics for over 31.5 million accounts.

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