Epic Games recently revealed that its highly successful battle royale, Fortnite, will receive a few changes in the form of age ratings and restrictions. Essentially, this change will “help parents and players make informed play decisions about the thousands of games and other experiences in Fortnite.” As a result, some cosmetics and skins have been locked off and can no longer be used on islands that have a rating below “Teen.” Naturally, this prompted a swift backlash from upset players.
In the announcement, Epic Games noted that “if a player equips one of these items and joins an island below the designated rating threshold, their equipped item will appear as an item that’s compatible with the island’s rating.” This means that players who bought certain items not deemed appropriate for an island’s rating will no longer be able to see or use their favourites in matches.
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Players tend to spend a lot of V-bucks to purchase specific items and are now unfortunately locked out of using them. This little discrepency was never actually detailed in the announcement, leading to the community voicing their anger and frustration.
The hashtag “RevertTheUpdate” is now trending on Twitter/X from upset Fortnite players:
bruh this update is just shit
IT'S A SHOOTING GAME GOD DAMN IT WHY THE FUCK ARE WEAPONS ON SKINS BANNED?!#Fortnite #FortniteOG #RevertTheUpdate pic.twitter.com/7ZIjF09wiw
— Xhen (@Xhen_Gaming) November 17, 2023
I really hope people aren't just instantly accepting this.
This means that the locked cosmetics right now could literally take MONTHS if not a YEAR FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY BE COMPATIBLE SO EVERYONE JUST HAS TO DEAL WITH THESE BEING INACCESSIBLE FOR THE TIME BEING#REVERTTHEUPDATE https://t.co/RDqlsoDd4T
— 🧡Pow💜 (@PowReturns) November 16, 2023
This is the most unselfaware update in gaming history #RevertTheUpdate pic.twitter.com/eeIqVwH2rF
— Freezy Gam1ng_🆖(PLAY MADNESSKOMBAT ACIDICDEMORN) (@FFreeze76) November 16, 2023
As reported by several Twitter/X users, skins that display “inappropriate” cosmetics like ammunition, weapons or even monsters with terrifying designs (like Venom or Predator) are being locked. The ammunition thing is bizarre since this is basically a game where you shoot other players with weapons. It doesn’t make sense that ammo would be grounds for censorship in that context.
Fortnite recently attracted a whopping 44.7 million players after it relaunched the fan-favourite OG map from Chapter 1, giving long-time fans a slice of nostalgia. Unfortunately, that good will seems to have been short-lived after the controversial age ratings update caused quite a stir in the community. It’s uncertain if Epic Games will respond or actually revert the update.
Source: ComicBook
