Fortnite has managed to maintain a player count most games could only dream of, even with plenty of seasons getting a sizeable backlash! The fact is, when your game counts millions of different players as dedicated fans, you can’t please all of them. But by listening to player feedback, Fortnite has grown a lot over the years.

Since its start in 2017, Fortnite has gotten a lot bigger. You don’t get such sizeable growth without player feedback occasionally being negative though. As the game has grown, it’s tried to incorporate some aspects of player feedback. Taking cues from the community for where to take the game next. It’s often led to the best developments for the game.

These are the key ways Fortnite player feedback has influenced the development of the game, over six Chapters and eight years:

How Fortnite Player Feedback Has Changed the Game

The Early Seasons – Selling Anything

Fortnite exploded with viral success when the Battle Royale released. Originally intended as a side project to Save the World, it took over. A big part of its growth was frequent content updates, keeping the game fresh and fun to play. However, it took a while for its team to scale. At times, Fortnite updates did get slower. Even in the Item Shop! In a bit of a lull between releases, players got restless.

In a famous case, one of the most popular Fortnite streamers directly influenced the direction of the game.

Frustrated with the lack of opportunities to hand Epic money, Ninja went off on stream. Saying they could literally put a plunger in the game and he’d buy it. Essentially, hurry up and add more cosmetics.

So, they made a Plunger and sold it in the item shop! Of course, the Pickaxe had a twist reflecting where the idea came from, a Ninja Katana on the plunger. Taking player feedback and incorporating it into the game, in a bit of a tongue-in-cheek way.

Season X – Where Player Feedback and Fortnite Clashed

Fortnite’s relationship with player feedback hasn’t always been as smooth. Later Chapter 1 got rough, starting with the Planes but reaching its peak in Season X.

Season X is now best remembered as that Fortnite season everyone kind of hated. At one point, players abandoned the game in droves to play Uno instead. They added ridiculously unbalanced features. They were aware of the player feedback behind them… but just didn’t do anything about it.

Instead, Epic released a statement explaining their decisions. That everyone deserves a Victory Royale, and if it meant making the game an RNG dice roll… so be it. They were going to chase that instead of improving matchmaking to give everyone a chance.

It wasn’t what anyone wanted to hear. Thankfully, it didn’t last all that long. If this had persisted, we wouldn’t have the huge list of Fortnite all seasons we have today. Epic turned back from this and started to listen to player feedback. Gradually dialling the balance back in, and making a big reset. In hindsight, the mechs may have been Fortnite’s key turning point.

Chapter 2’s Early Development Built on What Works

After Season X, Fortnite needed to change. Chapter 2 was a huge reset for the game. It was a whole new world. Unfortunately, it dragged on a bit, with very few updates for the first season. From the Season 2 onwards though, things got better. With one of the most popularly remembered seasons in Fortnite’s history.

Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2 took what worked and continued to build on that. Season 3 embraced a bigger theme with a flood that slowly receded. Meaning every week, the map played differently. The next season was a big collab, but got other featured frequently enough to keep things interesting.

The early parts of Chapter 2 saw the game delivering on most of player feedback. Taking what worked and building on it.

Turning Around After Mistakes

Chapter 2 wasn’t free of bigger problems, the next low came in the Primal Season. An absolutely baffling season. All the weapons were replaced by a complex system that saw you harvesting crafting materials each game, unnecessary animals roamed the map. half the loot pool was pointless. There were some strange decisions and it’s not particularly well remembered.

Rather than sticking with any of these gameplay twists like crafting, they were pretty much all thrown out. The next season remains one of the most popular as the game took a completely different approach. Fortnite Chapter 2 went out on a high, after ditching all the features players thought were unpopular from its mid-point.

Zero Build

Chapter 3 saw one of the biggest Fortnite changes from player feedback, Zero Builds.

The game had developed a complex system over the years as players mastered the building tools. As Fortnite esports got bigger and bigger, the skill level just kept going up. It meant that your average players building skills just didn’t keep up. It made the game much harder for new players to get into, and the frustration was common Fortnite player feedback.

Then came Zero Build. Originally intended as an event only lasting a couple of weeks to mix things up for Battle Royale players, people loved it. A lot of lapsed players returned to the game, it hit new heights for popularity. Epic listened. Fortnite Zero Build was introduced as a brand-new mode directly from player feedback! It’s remained a mainstay. With a roughly equal player count to Builds to this day.

The Jungle Debacle

Zero Build was in the game. But since Epic works quite a bit ahead of time and it wasn’t planned, it wasn’t the smoothest. As time went on, certain weapons and map elements were clearly developed without Zero Build in mind. The worst example was the Summer season of Chapter 4’s biome, the Jungle.

A newly introduced biome, but one that was in no way built for players without builds. It was a frustrating few weeks. While eventually fixed, it left a mark on an otherwise pretty popular season. Afterwards, Epic began taking much more care to ensure it was all set-up for every player before a map change went live. Even if at times that meant too many ziplines!

Fortnite Reload and OG – A Mode for Everyone

As the game progressed into Chapter 5 and 6, it moved over to new maps and different styles of player. That’s meant Epic has embraced a bigger platform for Fortnite, with different mode. Something it’s used to address player feedback.

Most Fortnite players probably weren’t calling out for Rocket Racing. However, something different happened with combat modes. Whenever Battle Royale entered into a season with a major mechanic change (like the Wrecked car season), there was a different mode waiting. Fortnite Reload was the first.

It was a mode which focused back on old school gunplay. Old weapons, more simple set-ups. It was exactly what players were clamouring for. More recently OG, a straight nostalgia mode that just re-created early Fortnite’s gameplay. Not revolutionary, but the exact thing players wanted.

The new modes have helped ensure there’s always room for different types of players in Fortnite. Developments straight from fan feedback that have made Fortnite what it is today.