New Year’s Eve: Counting down to midnight in online worlds

Festive themes have become increasingly common in online games, and many lay on special limited-time events in December and January.

Cashing in on the season isn’t exclusive to gaming, but it does allow developers to give their communities a reason to log on at a time of year when they might be distracted by family gatherings or another big entertainment release.

Anyone playing Fortnite – on an average day that’s about 30 million people – can take a break to look to the sky.

They’ll see a descending disco ball, followed by a firework explosion shaped like the game’s famous llama.

Because people worldwide play the game, these displays took place every hour, on the hour, throughout the day last year.

Cassie says it’s a really fun addition to the game, where “people just celebrate and do lots of emotes (dances) when things are going off”.

“It feels like you’re in a virtual world with loads of other people celebrating that gaming experience with you,” she says.

For anyone who hasn’t tried it before, Cassie says one advantage of a virtual party is that it can save a lot of money compared with a real world night out.

“It’s a good way to start the year, because as much as people use games to escape, it’s also a connection to other people.”