What is the highest rank in Fortnite in 2025? Fortnite ranks explained

If you’ve ever wondered how Fortnite ranked works, we’re here to help. Epic Games’ perennially popular battle royale giant has been immensely successful since its launch nearly eight years ago, with ranked modes coming into the fold just two years ago. It’s not just the popular Battle Royale mode, but also Zero Build, OG, Reload, and Ballistic, which are now catering to competitive play. 

We’re going over far more than just all the Fortnite ranks in order. Outlining the ranks and tiers, we also cover how the system works in detail, ways to improve in the game, and what the upcoming season/chapter means for your progression up the competitive ladder. 

Whether you’re playing on an Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo console (or even a mobile device), you may be at a disadvantage against PC players using a mouse and keyboard with crossplay enabled. 

Learning Fortnite ranked levels is just the start to what can easily be considered one of the biggest games of all time, a title that shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. 

The highest and best rank in Fortnite is Unreal, which is reserved for a minimal number of players. According to Fortnite Tracker’s latest statistics, only around 0.4% of the total player base (about 19,000 users worldwide across all devices) are at this elite level. 

It’s a rank reserved for top-end gamers and streaming personalities such as Crush.BDS, Twitch Perkcules, Wendiger Schmali, and Daywalker.36. 

Peter “PeterBot” Kata is widely considered to be the best Fortnite player in 2025, holding an Unreal rank. 

So, what ranks are there in Fortnite?

All Fortnite ranks are divided into eight different tiers. There are a total of 18 ranks available in the game in 2025, with Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond each having three levels. 

You can play Ranked Fortnite in either the Battle Royale or Zero Build modes, so you can have an authentic experience with or without the building element if desired. Unlike the first five ranks, Elite, Champion, and Unreal do not have levels and are their respective tiers. 

The Fortnite ranking system has linear progression from the different ranks and tiers, which is tied to your performance. Everything you do in the game will earn you points towards your next level, such as higher placements in the battle royale (such as winning a victory royale), counting eliminations, and being a good team player when playing ranked duos or trios, if applicable. 

Points will also be added for the damage done in-game, how risky you’ve played in (and around) the storm zone, the objectives/missions you’ve completed on the map, and how active you are throughout a match. 

You don’t necessarily have to win victory royales every time you play the game to rank up in Fortnite, but it helps. Consistency is the key to climbing up the ranked ladder, and you can speed things along by playing solo, so you aren’t beholden to anyone else. 

High elimination counts and solid placements in the top five (or even top 10) can mean your rank will steadily improve instead of dramatically spike. Your rank is based on your game history, so if you’re starting on a lower rank, playing more (and consistently) could turn the tide. 

Over 4.7 million people are playing Fortnite Ranked in 2025, so the distribution of the ranks is surprisingly varied. While we know that the Unreal is the highest rank available (with less than 1% of players holding it), things are far more diverse across the Bronze, Silver, and Gold tiers. 

Specifically, the Silver 1 rank is the most common of all of the 18 possible options, with 9.9% of players (roughly 472,118 people) competing in this league. 

The lowest Fortnite rank is Bronze 1, where everyone will begin once they choose to play the game competitively. It accounts for 5.8% of the player base, being outshone by the other two levels of the rank, with Bronze 2 and Bronze 3 accounting for 7.5% and 8.2%, respectively. 

Your placement depends on how many points you earn during each match; playing well consistently could see your rank improve with three to six wins, but average performance could make the process much longer.

While not quite the best Fortnite rank possible, Elite and Champion are still highly sought-after positions that very few players will attain despite their best efforts. Nearly 4% of all players have achieved Elite at some point, but things drop off dramatically with Champion rank, as only 1.6% of players hold the position. This makes Champion the penultimate rank by statistics. 

One thing to remember about all the ranks in Fortnite is that they are separate for both Battle Royale and Zero Build (as well as Reload, OG, and Ballistic) instead of being a shared pool. That means you could be Platinum 1, for example, in the former but hold a much lower Bronze 2 rank in the latter. 

Without crossover, you’re given the choice of either consistently playing both modes to match things as closely as possible or prioritizing one over the other. Whether you want the option of building or not will dictate how well you can play, and your rank will reflect this. 

There are several ways to rank up in Fortnite, but no quick and easy solutions are available. Because the progression of your rank is tied to points earned throughout matches, the most important thing you can do to increase your level is work on your fundamental skills and apply them to each game going forward. 

For example, you can only survive longer in battle royale situations by winning gun fights, and this can be done more effectively by understanding the third-person shooter mechanics of the game. 

Fortnite guns are not given to you by default. Instead, you must find them in chests, buy them from machines, or loot them from defeated enemies. There have been over 200 weapons in the game, with them changing dramatically with each chapter and season. That’s to say nothing of themed (or limited-time) weapons, which can dramatically impact the meta. 

As a result, the best you can do is learn to control a weapon’s recoil and fire in short and controlled bursts from both a crouched and standing position instead of solely relying on a run-and-gun strategy. Similarly, go into Playground Mode and experiment with the guns, the weapon spread, and the damage down at a distance. 

Once you have a handle on the movement and weapon mechanics, you can get better at Fortnite by launching in solo, completing as many challenges as possible, focusing on slaying enemies, and chasing high placements. You won’t necessarily have to win a crown with each and every game, but scoring consistently in the top five (or even top 10) will see your rank steadily improve rather than inconsistently winning a game, then tanking for the next 10 matches, and then playing averagely. 

Patience is the most important virtue, just as regular practice and learning from your mistakes will see you become a better player overall. 

There is no stringent Fortnite rank decay in 2025; however, ranks reset at the end of each season (and chapter) in Battle Royale and Zero Build ranked modes. 

Epic Games announces when the seasons are coming to an end on its social media pages, and things differ with other ranked modes such as Reload and Ballistic, which all feature separate ranks as well. 

Once a season resets, there will be a series of placement matches to determine your rank (and subsequent skill level) against the competition based on your number of eliminations and placements in matches. 

You won’t necessarily start from Bronze 1, as your new starting Fortnite rank will be based on your performance during the previous season, at least in theory. 

A Fortnite season traditionally lasts three months (or 90 days), meaning you’ll have a fair amount of time to build up/retain your rank with regular play. Of course, scarcely playing throughout a season could see a harsher demotion than logging in often. 

Similarly, it’s believed that those players in the Elite, Champion, and Unreal tiers (that do not contain levels) are unlikely to be docked in the changing seasons. 

We hope that with the Fortnite ranks explained, you’ll be able to better understand the inner workings of Epic Games’ battle royale shooter at a higher level. With eight distinct tiers and a total of 18 ranks, there’s a wide gap in players (and skill levels) across the millions of people logging into Fortnite right now. 

Whether you’re interested in Zero Build, Battle Royale, or another form of competitive play, now you know what to expect and how to improve. 

Once you’ve learned what ranked means in Fortnite, we recommend checking out more of Esports Insider’s extensive Fortnite coverage, which offers all the latest news on esports events, upcoming collaborations, top players, leading streamers, prize pools, and more.