Five things about ‘Fortnite,’ the video game Drake shared with his fans

Drake’s a fan, as is Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, along with legions of other gamers.

They’re all hooked on “Fortnite,” a multiplayer video game that made headlines Thursday for a celebrity-studded match watched by hundreds of thousands of fans.

Here are five things to know about the game and its growing fan base:

WHAT IS IT

A third-person perspective game with a cartoon-y esthetic. Gamers play as one of four character types — outlander, soldier, ninja or constructor — as they try to survive in a world that’s lost 98 per cent of its population and is beset by monsters. A separate free “Fortnite Battle Royale” version allows up to 100 players to go to war against each other online.

CELEBRITY MATCH

Some 630,000 onlookers were watching as Drake, rapper Travis Scott and Pittsburgh Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster joined high-profile gamer Tyler (Ninja) Blevins for a broadcast on the streaming platform Twitch in the wee hours Thursday morning. Drake used his official Twitter account to confirm it was really him playing and chatting during the broadcast. His moniker? TheBoyDuddus.

UNOFFICIAL GAME OF THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

In December, Matthews and other members of the Leafs told reporters they were big fans of “Fortnite” and had developed an inter-team rivalry.

“Off days I don’t really leave my apartment too much just because you just want to relax, so I’ve been trying to get better every day,” said Matthews, who admitted teammate Tyler Bozak was probably the best “Fortnite” player on the Leafs. He hinted goalie Frederik Andersen needed the most practice.

PLAYING BETWEEN ‘STRANGER THINGS’

Canadian actor Finn Wolfhard, one of the stars of Netflix’s sci-fi hit “Stranger Things,” has been sharing his “Fortnite” exploits on Twitter. Fans can also check out his Twitch page for a few dozen videos of him playing “Fortnite” and other games including “Overwatch” and “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.”

COMING SOON TO A PHONE NEAR YOU

“Fortnite Battle Royale” is set to reach even greater audiences once it’s fully rolled out to mobile devices. Developer Epic Games is currently letting fans sign up for an invite to play on Apple iOS devices, although no specific release date has been set. A version for Google Android devices is expected “in the next few months.”