Epic is making a big change to Fortnite competitive play – and not everyone is happy

Epic Games has announced some big changes for Fortnite: Battle Royale's competitive scene, and not everyone in the game's community is happy.

The changes concern "collusion" – opposing players teaming up or helping each other in some way. While this has been the case for a while, the changes are now official and in black and white. Colluding in any way – be it fighting together, planning to land or move together, swapping items, or communicating – will get you banned.

It's the final point, otherwise known as "signalling" that has annoyed some professional Fortnite players. Epic says "pick-axe swinging, emoting, toy tossing, and jumping" in an official tournament in order to communicate with other players is forbidden. "Any cases of signalling like those listed above will now result in a teaming/collusion penalty," the developer continues. "We want to be explicitly clear that pacifism-style gameplay is still allowed, but if signalling is involved, we will review and take appropriate action for the teaming/collusion penalty. Repeat offenders may be subject to increased penalties."

In response, Ninja expressed some doubts: "I can see where Epic is coming from, as a spectator seeing teams and players rotating and not shooting and swinging pick axes can seem odd but with no rotation items at all professional players understand when the time to fight actually is. Also, jumping? Best way to dodge snipes."

I can see where epic is coming from, as a spectator seeing teams and players rotating and not shooting and swinging pick axes can seem odd but with no rotation items at all professional players understand when the time to fight actually is. Also, jumping? Best way to dodge snipes pic.twitter.com/NenfqxdK12

— Ninja (@Ninja) January 20, 2020

Other streamers and pro players are less understanding. Chap, for example, says he "can't wait to switch to a pickaxe by habit and get banned".

Epic has clarified elsewhere that the signalling changes only apply if you're doing just that – signalling to other players – and not simply performing those actions in the usual way. "Competing players shouldn't have anything to worry about if the jumping isn't an intended meaning of signalling," the developer says. It also says any suspected foul play will be reviewed before the culprit is banned.

It emerged recently that the Ninja Fortnite skin is finally a thing, while the battle royale game's teaming up with TikTok to offer people the chance to get their own emote in the game.

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