Here's what it was like inside 'Fortnite's' exclusive 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' event, where fans got a sneak peek at the movie and danced with director J.J. Abrams (DIS)

By: Business Insider

December 16, 2019 at 12:38 PM EST

On Saturday, "Fortnite" players got to watch a sneak preview of the soon-to-be-released movie "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
During the event, players were also greeted by avatars of "The Rise of Skywalker" director J.J. Abrams, and Game Awards host Geoff Keighley.
Despite the flood of viewers making it difficult to log in, I was able to get into the game for a front row look at the event.
Here's what "Fortnite's" exclusive "Star Wars" event was like, from quiet start to explosive finish.
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On Saturday, brand new footage from the highly anticipated movie "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" premiered inside of "Fortnite," one of the world's most popular video games. This comes less than a week before the movie's release in the US, on December 20.

Players who logged in at about 2 p.m. EST on Saturday all gathered at a single point on the game's map — an area called "Risky Reels" — to hear a speech from director J.J. Abrams, as well as watch a sneak preview of the upcoming movie. While the event was going on, every player in-game saw and heard the same things, no matter where they were or who they were playing with.

This isn't "Fortnite's" first live whole-game event: Back in February, millions of players logged in to watch a live concert by EDM star Marshmello. This isn't even "Fortnite's" first movie promotion, considering it's advertised for films like "John Wick" and "The Avengers" in the past.

But this is first time a movie studio has used the game to share footage that can't be seen anywhere else, and considering how many people logged on to watch, it likely won't be the last.

Although I've always been a big fan of these live events, I've admittedly never been able to attend one — before now. At 2 p.m. on Saturday, I logged into "Fortnite" to see what the game had planned for their highest profile event yet.

Here's what "Fortnite's" explosive "Star Wars" event was like, from start to finish.

First of all, just getting into the game was a challenge. In the hour leading up to the event, the "Fortnite" servers crashed under the heavy load of players trying to log in. Many took to the event's official Twitch stream to voice their frustration... with memes and emotes.William Antonelli/Business Insider

It took me seven tries to log in, but once I did, I was greeted by this loading screen. While the loading screens in "Fortnite" usually give you tips to better dominate other players, this time, it just told me to have fun.William Antonelli/Business Insider

I dropped into the game with a new glider, styled after the evil Empire's TIE Fighter ships in "Star Wars." You usually have to pay for new glider designs, but everyone who participated in the event got this one for free.William Antonelli/Business Insider

Everyone in my game flew into Risky Reels to settle in for the show. We'd just gotten an announcement that the event would be pushed back 10 minutes to give everyone a chance to log on, so I figured we'd be in for a wait.William Antonelli/Business Insider

In the leadup to the event, the game disabled all of our weapons, meaning that we couldn't hurt each other. And anyone who's played "Fortnite" even once knows what happens when a bunch of players that can't attack get together: endless dancing and posing.William Antonelli/Business Insider

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