Some gamers are apparently unhappy with changes made to Epic Games’ massively popular free-to-play shooterFortnitefollowing the end of Chapter 3, as Google searches for the terms “FortniteSucks” and “Fortniteis dead” have increased dramatically in recent days. The online game recently underwent drastic changes during theFortniteFracture event, which saw the game world reconfigured yet again to kick off the beginning of Chapter 4.
Originally launched for PC in 2017, Epic Games’Fortnitelets players take part in battle royale matches on a sprawling, cartoonish map filled with vehicles, weapon caches, and destructible buildings. Taking a decidedly lighter approach to the battle royale formula than competitors likePlayer Unknown’s BattlegroundsandApex Legends,Fortnitehas managed to garner a massive fanbase through a combination of regular updates to the free-to-play game and a steady stream of skins and other cosmetic items available for purchase. The recent Chapter 4 update brought support for the newUnreal Engine 5 toFortnite, making the game’s colorful world look more impressive than ever.
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In a story posted on comics and gaming site AverageBeing, it was revealed that searches for the term “FortniteSucks” on Google have risen by a whopping 1821.9% since the launch ofFortniteChapter 4. The term “Fortniteis dead” saw a similar spike in search traffic, doubling from its usual search volume to increase by 875.6%. However, not all of theFortnite-related search terms that saw an increase in usage were so negative, with the general term “Fortnitechapter 4” also experiencing a jump. While many players had expressed excitement about the multitude ofnew features inFortniteChapter 4in the lead-up to its launch, these search results make it clear that some gamers are less than pleased with changes to the title.
Curiously, the drastic increase in “Fortniteis dead” searches seemed to be primarily limited to a few geographic locations. While the term saw an increase in use worldwide during the period being looked at, the largest spikes were seen in New Zealand and Singapore, which saw increases of 100% and 71% respectively. AverageBeing speculated that the general pessimism towardsFortniteexhibited in the search results could be blowback from false rumors on Twitter thatFortnitewould shut down permanently ahead of the release of Chapter 4.
Regardless of the reasons behind the spike in pessimistic searches related toFortnitein recent days, such a drastic jump in negative sentiment towards the popular shooter is a worrying sign. Whether the result of unfounded Twitter rumors or frustration at the constant changes to the game, it’s clear that someFortniteplayers are less than happy. For those frustrated with the changes, at least there’s always the ability to play a few rounds in theFortniteclassic map in CreativeMode.
Fortniteis available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
