Fortnite: Do streamers and pros still like the game?

It’s easy to see the Fortnite is in a rough spot right now. Even as Fortnite grows and undergoes significant updates, many pros and competitive players are moving on to other games with larger and more developed competitive communities. So what’s going on?

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Fortnite streamers and pros are leaving the game

New ChapterRead: https://t.co/5wYiH8MsUI

— itemm (@itemmFN) July 8, 2020

In recent memory, multiple pro Fortnite players and streamers have begun moving on to other games. Some of them have seemingly cut all ties to Fortnite, while others are simply playing less and less. Itemm publicly stated he would be leaving the game, Ninja has spent much more time in Valorant than in Fortnite, and SypherPK has been pointing out flaws which Epic has failed to address.

If this trend continues, soon Fortnite will lose its most recognizable community members.

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Where are these Fortnite players going?

First game on, 2nd circle is beginning to close, there are only 3 players left in the game (including myself).I feel like this needs to be talked about. A lot of things are causing this. Let's figure out those reasons and try to make adjustments. 👍 pic.twitter.com/IAGNxurAJN

— SypherPK (@SypherPK) July 18, 2020

It seems like many are moving on to games that are less hostile to the competitive communities that grow around them. SypherPK mentioned that many have moved on to Call of Duty because that game has better pacing than Fortnite. The game has more action, more people alive by the end, and more fun moments that make it worth playing both for fun and for content.

Others like Ninja are moving on to Valorant. Valorant seems much more geared towards a competitive community with its games being much shorter and more goal oriented with far less randomness than a battle royale game would have.

Itemm simply stated that he has retired, but his YouTube has posted some videos of him playing Rust, seemingly suggesting that he’s decided to play something non-competitive for a while.

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Is Fortnite hostile to its competitive community?

.@Ninja secures a 3k and the round 🔥 #eUCharityClash pic.twitter.com/YXL86BnQWO

— eUnited (@eUnited) July 18, 2020

The game design of Fortnite is already problematic for anyone attempting to play it competitively. Innate randomness makes the game difficult to take seriously at a competitive level, but pro players have managed to work with this randomness to develop a unique competitive environment.

However, as Itemm pointed out in his retirement statement, Epic Games seems to ignore the Fortnite competitive scene even as they use it to advertise the game through big events. It seems that Epic is okay with competitive Fortnite existing when it benefits them, but does not want to support it more than as a marketing ploy.

If this policy should continue, if Fortnite fails to address the ongoing problems in the game, then the competitive and streaming communities built up around it will likely continue to leave. If this happens, it would mean hours of free footage of their game being lost. Hopefully Epic recognizes this and has a plan to do something about it.