Epic wants Fortnite players to stop calling guns by their real-world names when playing Creative
Fortnite Creative, a Minecraft-like sandbox mode, is going live today with Season 7.
To help set the standards for launch, Fortnite developer Epic Games has issued an updated code of conduct specifically for Creative. This is not the first time Epic has detailed a list of dos and don'ts when it comes to Fortnite.
Fotnite's Battle Royale mode has its own code of conduct. In fact, the one key difference between that code of conduct and the updated one for Creative, is how Epic wants players to talk about the in-game weapons.
Under the 'do' list, Epic wrote, "Use official Fortnite names for all weapons, outfits, points of interest, and items." This is clearly aimed at players who use the real-world names for weapons in Fortnite. They do that, of course, because in-game weapons are modelled after many real weapons.
Creative is likely meant to be the most accessible mode in the game, and Epic is probably courting an audience of mostly children - in the same way Minecraft has been doing all those years. It's understandable that the developer doesn't want names like SCAR and M16 associated with a kid-friendly game.
That said, it's incredibly bizarre to have this rule now when the Battle Royale portion of the game has existed for months, where players have been happily calling weapons by their real-world names. It's also not clear how - if ever - Epic plans to enforce these rules in a game as popular as Fortnite.
The line about weapon names also covers other in-game items like points of interest, which is probably there to protect players from offensive names. But, again, how Epic plans to enforce these rules is anyone's guess.
Catch the new Fortnite Season 7 trailers at the link while you wait for servers to go back up.
Thanks, PCGamesN.