Pro gamers may be pleased to know that Epic Games is implementing some changes this year as regards to rolling out fixes and updates for Fortnite.
These changes will take effect starting with the fast-approaching Australian Open, which is scheduled for Jan. 26 to 27.
A New Time Window For Patches
In its latest state of development, the game developer of the wildly popular 100-player Battle Royale game now plans to launch patches several days to a week before a tournament begins. This new time window will avoid catching the competitive players by surprise with a game patch prior to a competition.
"We value the ability of players to adapt to the game changing over time. We also believe these changes keep Fortnite fresh for everyone including players, competitors and spectators," Epic Games wrote in its blog post. "However, we want to provide reasonable time for you to adjust strategies following large gameplay impacting changes, for example prior to official Fortnite competitions."
According to Engadget, Epic's announcement stemmed from the feedback coming from pro players over the past six months of competitive play. The gaming community previously criticized "game-breaking" weapons, such as the overpowered Compact SMG. As a result, the game developer was compelled to make some adjustments, either by nerfing the weapon or getting rid of it.
The game developer assured fans that the game will still receive weekly updates but it will be making the necessary adjustments for major official Fortnite tournaments. It added saying that 2018 was an "invaluable learning experience" for the game's Competitive team.
In this regard, the game creator is exerting efforts to make competitive play less fickle for pro players moving forward. Epic Games promises that it will not stop to consider the "need for stability" during competitions planned for this year.
Fortnite Competitions
Epic held around 33 official online competitions in North America and Europe and a couple of huge offline competitions in the last six months. A total of $20 million in prizes was awarded to about 1,000 players of those competitions, which elevates the competitive experience.
The Australian Open is the first of the many competitions scheduled for 2019. Pro gamers in this tournament will play core Battle Royale modes.
Last year, Fortnite generated $2.4 billion in revenue, making it the no. 1 game in the free-to-play market. Meanwhile, Season 8 is slated to kick off around mid-February.
