New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS): Fortnite developer Epic Games has announced that the games competitive scene will have a prize pool of $20 million this year.

Last year's total prize pool was $17 million and in 2019, it was a massive $30 million.

"Our overall goal is to create better consistency throughout the year and tie the 2021 seasons together for a more cohesive experience.

"For 2021, the pinnacle of Fortnite Competitive, Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS), will have $20 million in prizes - compared to $17 million in 2020 - and format tweaks also after considering player feedback," the company said in a statement.

The developer earlier said that all competitions would take place online and now revealed more details about the schedule: qualifiers will kick off on February 4 with the finals starting on March 12.

As for the prize pool, there will be four seasons of the FNCS in 2021, with a total of $3 million in prize money for each.

The remaining $8 million will serve as the prize money for these yet-to-be-determined tournaments.

"We also have plans for mid and end of year competitions where we will bring together the top-performing FNCS players in each region in multiple competitive formats," the developer added.

In addition, Epic has also revealed a new partnership that will see 23 different professional soccer teams featured in the Fortnite game, banned by Apple in August last year for allegedly violating its App Store policies.