Fortnite Now Lets Players Block ‘Overly Confrontational’ Emotes, Sparking Vociferous Debate
Epic Games has updated Fortnite to let players block certain emotes it said were used in “confrontational ways.”
The new ‘Confrontational Emotes’ setting, live as part of April 23’s v29.30 update, lets players toggle visibility on four emotes, including Fortnite’s famous ‘Take the L’ emote. Players who choose not to see certain emotes that are “sometimes used in confrontational ways” will instead see a player using the emote standing still, with no emote sound, Epic said.
“We want emotes to be a source of good vibes, but a few (*cough* Take the L *cough*) can sometimes feel a bit overly confrontational,” Epic explained in a tweet.
The ‘See Confrontational Emotes’ setting applies to four emotes:
Laugh It UpTake the LWhipcrackMake It Plantain
The new setting can be found under ‘Social Privacy’ and will default to only show these emotes from friends in your party, Epic said. You can change this setting any time, so you can see these emotes from ANY player or not at all.
It’s a significant change for Fortnite, which owes much of its early success to revenue-generating emotes as the battle royale blew up in the late 2010s. Some of the emotes became world famous dances, with even footballers performing them as goal celebrations.
When griezmann hit the “Take the L” celebration VS Croatia in the world cup final🐐🐐 pic.twitter.com/mgW5xLMOPc
— Ugo (@MCFC_Ugo) September 11, 2023
Reaction to the move is mixed, with some within the Fortnite community expressing disbelief that Epic would let players block any emote in the game, let alone some of the most famous ones. However, others are defending the decision while pointing out that even with these emotes disabled, players will still see their own avatar perform them.
“We want emotes to be a source of good vibes, but a few (*cough* Take the L *cough*) can sometimes feel a bit overly confrontational.
“In the years since they were added, the culture and use around them has become insanely toxic,” said redditor express_sushi49. “They are almost exclusively used in a setting where one player is sweaty beyond belief and the other is likely angry af. Epic stands to gain nothing by allowing their players to potentially rage quit from their game over it. It’s just bad business after all.”
ItsChris_8776_ suggested Epic offer refunds on the listed emotes, because players who bought them did so for the express purpose of trolling others. “The main issue is that a lot of the emotes banned, such as take the L or laugh it up, were EXCLUSIVELY marketed to annoy other players that you kill, and is the main reason that players paid for these emotes,” ItsChris_8776_ said.
Others still are now wondering if players will use other emotes instead in order to troll others, and, if so, whether Epic will expand the list.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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