Epic Games upended Fortnite's Battle Royale meta this season when, without warning, they brought back two fan-favorite assault rifles and a powerful shotgun from previous seasons.

Fans were stumped: none of them fit the season's bug-infested theme. One of the rifles instantly became—in my opinion—the , with the other close behind.

"They really just throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks huh?" said on the game's official subreddit. the "random loot pool", including these new weapons and the recently added Shockwave hammer, felt like a "feeble attempt to keep the season fresh".

Many claimed the dwindling player counts in Battle Royale and Zero Build, typically Fortnite's two biggest modes, were the trigger. This time last year Battle Royale averaged 300,000 players—it's now less than half of that.

So what's going on? How concerned should loyal players be, and is Epic's reaction too scattergun, as some fans suggest?

There are lots of reasons for the player count dip, not all of them linked to the mode itself.

First, Fortnite's overall numbers always fluctuate. Average player counts have hovered around 1 million for the past few months, which is lower than normal but in line with drops in the summers of 2023 and 2024.

Second, Fortnite has more modes than ever before. 's five-minute rounds have been popular since they arrived in June—Steal the Brainrot, a Roblox import, has peaked at over 500,000 players. A lower overall player base split between more game modes means fewer people in Battle Royale.

Anecdotally, this fracturing of the player base has driven some fans away altogether, including a group I used to play with. If you're logging on today for the first time since 2024 then you're confronted by a confusing menu full of unfamiliar gamemodes, some with amateur artwork. It's enough to convince some people that Fortnite has changed too much.

But Epic's decisions in Battle Royale itself have undisputedly played a part too.

Many players hated the two overpowered movement medallions added for Chapter 6 Season 4. Fighting anyone carrying them was painful and holding one felt essential for winning, so everyone funnelled towards the same two map locations to grab them. Epic removed the medallions entirely two weeks later but I imagine that, for some players, the damage was done.

from

Others say that Battle Royale is now too intimidating for new players. I feel it too: lobbies are sweatier, opponents are sharper. It's a combination of hardcore players moving from Ranked modes to regular Battle Royale (Ranked has lost disproportionately more players), the proliferation of streamers and content creators sharing tips with viewers, and simply the game getting older, which means long-time players are even more experienced relative [[link]] to newbies.

And then there's the fact this season's map and bug theme haven't grabbed people. The O.X.R. military faction feels generic, and the new level-up system encourages you to land at certain bug-infested locations, making some parts of the map redundant. I can't remember the last time I landed at the Star Wars-themed First Order Base in the upper-right of the map.

I agree, to some extent, with players calling the new weapons a "bizarre experiment". I thought I'd misread the news when I first , and knew it'd instantly transform how [[link]] I played.

The two assault rifles feel particularly jarring: they're the only ones in the loot pool with scopes or sights, making them easier to aim. I now almost never use the O.X.R. rifle, which was specially designed for this season, because the Holo Twister is simply better.

The constantly changing loot pool—in the same update, Fortnite removed an automatic shotgun and the DMR rifle—is particularly disruptive for infrequent players, who return not knowing where familiar weapons have gone.

But I ultimately don't think it matters whether the loot pool is "random". Whether it's in keeping with the season or not is, to me, irrelevant: is it fun? The Holo Twister is one of my all-time favorite rifles, and I love that I can now use it every round. And ultimately, these weapons are what fans were requesting: in a , Epic said the community had been asking for assault rifles with scopes and powerful shotguns.

It's too early to say whether the changes have worked, but player numbers over this past weekend were the healthiest since August. I'm sure Epic isn't worried either way: don't forget, Fortnite's all-time player peak wasn't five years ago but 9 months ago. Battle Royale is, and will remain, massive. And as I said earlier, some seasons just don't click, so the devs may as well do what they can to win as many fans back as possible.

Epic's recent Reddit post is a change of communication strategy, and shows it is willing to listen and engage with [[link]] players. The community is pleased: the most upvoted comment told Epic to "please continue this and never stop".

But the real test is on November 1, when Fortnite's new season is scheduled to start. One quiet season is a blip; two in a row would be concerning.