

Why Some Fans Are Furious About Fortnite: Chapter 2

Fortnite: Chapter 2 has arrived, and so far, it's pretty much everything battle royale fans could've asked for and them some. The game added a giant new map with tranquil streams, rolling hills, a huge gushing river, and a variety of interesting named locations. Players can now fish, upgrade weapons, utilize more hiding spots, carry downed teammates, and more. And a new Battle Pass is now live, giving players a whole new ladder of loot to chase throughout Chapter 2's Season 1.

But not everyone's happy about the changes introduced in Fortnite: Chapter 2. And if you're confused as to why, let us ask you this question: have you thought about Fortnite's Save the World mode lately?

If you're a die-hard battle royale contender, it's entirely possible you'd forgotten all about Fortnite's original mode. It certainly seems like Epic Games has, in light of Chapter 2 dropping with little to no new content for Save the World. While it's true that Battle Royale has become the main focus of Fortnite — as it has the most players and makes the most money – Save the World does still have a very dedicated player base. And judging by comments made online, that player base is feeling a little left out of the Fortnite: Chapter 2 celebration.

"Whelp, the game is back," wrote one player on Reddit shortly after Chapter 2 launched. "[Battle Royale] got a massive flashy cut-scene that seamlessly transitioned into game play; dozens of new features, skins, reworked profile mechanics. And [Save the World players] got, for having the game cut off from them for a day and a half involuntarily... Literally a half hearted apology and a Hero Ticket."

That same player was so upset about Save the World's treatment that they pitched simply killing the mode off altogether, writing, "Refund the purchase price for early adopters as V-bucks and cut off the vestigial limb that was the original game and stop the embarrassment."

Other players in that same Reddit thread felt largely the same way about Fortnite: Chapter 2 and its effects — of lack thereof — on Save the World. Some were upset about Battle Royale essentially shutting down Save the World for over 48 hours, even though the two modes have very little to do with one another. And others, of course, lamented the fact that Battle Royale got a heaping helping of new content and Save the World didn't.

It's a touchy situation, made even touchier by the fact that Save the World is still — at this moment in time — a paid early access product. While players could conceivably spend hundreds or even thousands of hours playing Fortnite: Battle Royale without spending a dime, those who play Save the World actually fronted money for access to that product. They are paying customers, and despite that, some feel they're simply not as important to Epic as the many free players who flood Battle Royale and the few whales who buy up skins and other cosmetics.

We know that makes sense financially. Epic is pushing its resources toward its biggest money-maker right now, and that is Battle Royale. It just can't feel very good to those who purchased access to Save the World hoping Epic would build it out and treat it as an equal. That's not what's been happening thus far, and with the arrival of Chapter 2, we can understand how the dearth of new stuff for Save the World might leave a bad taste in the mouths of early access supporters.

Will we ever see significant changes come to Fortnite: Save the World, though? That remains to be seen. The mode was slated to go free-to-play over a year ago, yet here we are in the Fall of 2019 and Save the World has yet to open its doors to that wider audience. We're not quite sure why Epic hasn't taken the plunge in that regard, as going free could draw more players into that PvE mode and, with cosmetic sales and such, help it grow alongside Battle Royale. Until then, Epic is basically keeping the mode alive for a smaller base of paid early access players, yet isn't putting much of a development focus on it. The result: no one's all that happy.

We'll be sure to update you should we hear about any major updates coming to Fortnite's Save the World mode. It sure feels like the forgotten half of Fortnite now, but who knows: maybe some fresh new content is just around the corner.