Fortnite is disabling a specific weapon from being used in competitive playlists. The decision comes after extensive feedback from Fortnite's player base.
Epic Games' popular free-to-play battle royale title is well into its fifth season of its Chapter 2. The crossover-focused season continues to bring in characters from across various franchises, including the likes of Halo's Master Chief, G.I. Joe's Snake Eyes, and The Walking Dead's Daryl Dixon. Fortnite also confirmed a Tron crossover earlier today.
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The "overpowered" gun in question is none other than the Storm Scout Exotic sniper rifle. Initially introduced back in the first chapter's Season 9, the long-range weapon was a legendary gun obtained through normal means. After being vaulted indefinitely at the start of the following season, Fortnite players saw the return of the Storm Scout as an Exotic, a new weapon class introduced in the game's current season. The sniper does have a few key advantages: while not as deadly as its standard bolt-action counterpart, the Storm Scout features a clip of six rounds, and a headshot multiplier of 2.5. However, its most notable feature (and a likely explanation for its removal from competitive play) is the ability to locate and track the next storm circle.
The change was made official via Fortnite's official Twitter handle with the humorous message "Forecast: 0% chance of Storm Scout." This isn't the first time Epic has altered or removed something viewed as an unfair competitive advantage from the game. After extensive player outcry, Fortnite is reportedly changing the controversial superhero skin which allowed wearers to select an all-black color scheme, making them nearly invisible in dark corners of the map. While the superhero skin is universally affected, the Storm Scout looks to still remain available in regular matches.
Fortnite's decision to pull the Exotic sniper rifle from competitive matches comes just in time for today's Cup. Epic recently revealed that DC's The Flash is the latest character to arrive on the island, set to become available on February 13. However, players interested in unlocking the Scarlet Speedster early can compete in The Flash Cup, a Duos tournament. Similar to cups last fall with Black Widow and Daredevil, the ultra-competitive environment is likely what spurred the developers to make the decision to remove the Exotic sniper.
While competitive players will likely welcome the removal, the way weapons work in Fortnite may soon change entirely. Continually growing in theory as the next massive change to the game's meta, a leak reveals how weapon mods may work. Taking a page from its battle royale colleagues Call of Duty: Warzone and Apex Legends, it should be extremely interesting to see how the supposed weapon attachments will affect Fortnite's gameplay.
Fortnite is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.