Fortnite: Xbox Series X/S And PlayStation 5 Won’t Be Tournament-Ready At Launch
| Tags: Fortnite
| Author Matt Pryor
Unfortunate news for competitive Fortnite players on console.
Fortnite: Battle Royale developer, Epic Games, has been working hard ahead of their iconic title's launch into the next generation of console gaming. Plenty of effort went into optimizing the best visuals, shorter loading times, enhanced split-screen options and more. Fortnite becoming a two-generation game is certainly no easy feat. The game itself has evolved over its three-year life, which saw Fortnite: Battle Royale become one of the world's most popular video games in its prime. The player base supports Epic Games and Fortnite on multiple platforms, granting it launch title status on Microsoft and Sony's new consoles.
Fortnite has developed quite a presence on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo and Mobile, especially from the competitive side. The developers have granted console gamers the privilege of competing for millions on their chosen device. Unfortunately, Epic released some news today regarding Fortnite's tournament status related to next-generation consoles on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. Console-specific players will not have the option to participate in tournaments until some time down the line.
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Epic Games Announcement
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S will be unable to compete in tournaments temporarily as we work on addressing some issues we found in testing. We'll let you know when these consoles will be able to access tournaments. Arena playlists will still be available.
— Fortnite Competitive (@FNCompetitive) November 9, 2020
The runners of @FNCompetitive broke the news to some 1 million followers on Twitter less than 24 hours before the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S go live on the global market. It appears the developers ran into some tournament-related trouble, preventing them from allowing the option in Fortnite on these new consoles.
“The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S will be unable to compete in tournaments temporarily as we work on addressing some issues we found in testing. We'll let you know when these consoles will be able to access tournaments. Arena playlists will still be available.”
As it stands, Fortnite players on these brand new systems will have to forego tournament play for an undetermined amount of time. Their only option to continue playing tournaments would be on their Xbox One or PlayStation 4 consoles until Epic Games gives the all-clear. It's undoubtedly unfortunate news, but it could not have come at a better time.
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Competitive Fortnite “Off-Season”
Fortnite's competitive scene never stops. Players are continually competing in events or money matches of some sort, whether it be Cash Cups or wagers. However, Fortnite's flagship Champion Series (FNCS) event for Chapter 2 – Season 4 concluded last weekend. Therefore, console players will not miss out on the $5 million prize pool on the line. Epic Games also has not announced the next Fortnite Champion Series format, prize pool or platform yet. This period acts as an off-season, where players will not be grinding scrims as much as they usually would during an FNCS competition.
Epic Games did not provide a timetable of when they will resolve these issues. Contrary to popular belief, the developers have significantly improved communication with competitive Fortnite players over the last few months. Hopefully, that will continue as they look to resolve the problem at hand. We should hear more in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!
Matt is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University. He appreciates all esports titles but primarily focuses on Fortnite and Call of Duty. Matt continuously analyzes gameplay and plays the games himself to better understand in-game decisions by the best players in the world.