Fortnite players are allegedly being blocked by Tim Sweeney, Epic Games CEO

The Fortnite community, at times, can be harsh when it comes to feedback and criticism. The most recent example was when a few developers who had worked on the movement were called out for supposedly doing shoddy work. While players did go a little too far, they were not blocked by Epic Games in any capacity. Those who gave constructive feedback helped the developers fine-tune the movement.

Fast forward to January 16, 2024, it would seem that Fortnite players are being blocked on the social media platform X. While most would assume that they are being blocked by Epic Games' social media accounts, that's not the case. According to one user, Eason825_, they were blocked by Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney for providing feedback about the state of discovery and moderation pertaining to custom maps.

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"I was blocked today by Tim for giving a little criticism about the state of discovery and moderation" : Eason825_ on X

According to the thread posted by the user, they were blocked after they had tweeted out to Epic Games' CEO. The user in concern had sarcastically brought to attention the poor state of discovery and moderation of custom maps. They replied to Tim Sweeney's tweet and said the following:

Shortly after this was tweeted, the user was blocked by the CEO of Epic Games. Here is what they had to say:

"I was blocked today by Tim for giving a little criticism about the state of discovery and moderation to him while comparing it to issues he sees. Instead of giving the community an answer to all this he is choosing to block me for it instead?"

Given that the state of moderation for customs maps is not up to the mark, as seen repeatedly, this was not an exaggeration on the user's part. Just recently, a custom map called "African Niger Hide and Seek" became the center of controversy online.

While Epic Games has removed the map, it showcases how poor moderation has been of late. This is not a one-time issue either. In early 2022, a custom map called Ru$$ia vs Ukraine was allowed on the Discover tab. This sparked off major backlash and was soon removed.

Coming back to the topic at hand, it would seem that Tim Sweeney has blocked several users for similar reasons. Here is what a few of them have to say about the situation at hand:

According to several users, they were blocked due to being vocal about various issues that pertain to Fortnite. However, it remains unclear as to why they were blocked merely for providing feedback and/or criticism. Given that Epic Games has vowed to be more transparent with issues pertaining to gameplay (like movement), this feels like taking two steps backward.

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When could Epic Games fix Fortnite discovery and provide better moderation for custom maps?

With the advent of Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1, there is a lot more content for players. As such, this means there are more things to constantly update and keep track of. While Epic Games has been doing a swell job thus far in terms of content, the same cannot be said for the discovery and moderation of maps.

According to the Fortnite community, things are in an abysmal state. Many feel that there is hardly any moderation being done in general. While this is certainly not true, given the recent series of events and backlash in general, it does feel that way. With dissent steadily rising, Epic Games best do something about it sooner rather than later. For the time being, there is no timeline in place.