GreyHerald2020

"Despite  Traveler's Tales no longer heading up LEGO gaming , local multiplayer has stuck around in games like LEGO 2K Drive and the upcoming LEGO Horizon Adventures. However, its late inclusion in LEGO Fortnite could be a canary in the coal mine."

You're wrong, Traveler's Tales are still heading up LEGO gaming titles, they are still working on one as of this time (rumored LEGO Jurassic Park/World game) and will have plenty more in the future.

As for LEGO Fortnite, split-screen mode will be a blessing since it will allow another player to join up with a friend/buddy in one world to share and play in. It is not the end of a tradition, it will keep going on and on.

"On the other hand, the post-launch release of the feature in LEGO Fortnite  signals how resigned the industry is to include it; it's simply more profitable to encourage the creation of more online subscription-paying accounts than to provide split screen."

It may be profitable, but it's also greed too, having to pay for a game that may not have their promised features on release isn't a good thing. The redemption move would be to add patches that have fixes and improvements and that would make the game worth its price. LEGO Fortnite meanwhile does NOT require a paid subscription. You get to play the game for FREE, but if there's any building kits that interest you in the Item Shop, you can buy them as an optional purchase, there is no requirement into being forced to having to buy the building kits in order to play the game, it's just a choice/extra add-on.

"Though the industry seems content to leave local multiplayer and split screen behind, LEGO Fortnite  does at least spark a little hope by making the effort."

There are still other games out there that have local multiplayer and split screen capabilities.