Fortniteowes a lot of its success to its fantastic ability to innovate and maintain the attention of players, with the title having altered the gaming industry as a whole since it rocketed to prominence in 2017. Since then, the title has gone on to massively expand its offered experiences, having collaborated with a near-endless list of high-profile franchises while expanding its gameplay into racing, community-made experiences, first-person arena shooters, and much more.
WhileFortnitehas consistently pioneered its own future and moved with the times, there is still an undeniable element of nostalgia surrounding the earliest days of the battle royale game, with Epic Games clearly seeing value in this. After being trialed to great success in November 2023,Fortniterecently added its OG mode as a permanent addition to the game, with this mode recreating the earliest conditions of the title through things like its original map, weaponry, and more. Despite the anticipation that has surrounded this huge introduction, a lot of controversy currently surroundsFortniteOG thanks to how skill-based matchmaking has impacted the mode, sparking debate around how the game has changed overtime and how strong skill-based matchmaking really needs to be.
Skill-Based Matchmaking Debate Has Overshadowed Fortnite’s OG Mode
Away from the massive attention thatFortniteoften receives due to its many collaborative events with other IPs, its OG mode stands as a shining example of the individual value and nostalgia that the game has amassed for itself over the years. The first temporary introduction ofFortniteOG proved to be a massive success for Epic Games, withFortniteeven smashing its already impressive player count record as a direct result of OG’s introduction.
This makes it unsurprising that Epic has decided to make OG a permanent feature ofFortnite, with the mode’s introduction causing another surge of new and returning players. WhenFortniteOG launched on December 6, players were greeted with a pretty authentic experience, aside from the more modern presence of things like tactical sprint and mantling, although this accuracy was fairly short-lived in the eyes of many fans.
Just a day later on December 7,Epic Games introduced some subtle changes that significantly impactedFortniteOG, with skill-based matchmaking being rolled out for the mode alongside the addition of bots. Some players welcomed these changes, with a lot of the earliest discussion aroundFortniteOG coming from players who found the matchmaking extremely difficult, perhaps being voiced mainly by returning players who have not engaged withFortnitesince the early years that the OG mode is attempting to recapture.
Bots and Skill-Based Matchmaking Have Impacted Fortnite OG’s Status as a Faithful Recreation
As expected, this massive change toFortniteOG’s matchmaking has caused a lot of criticism, withSBMM being one of the most divisive elements of modern shooter titles. With these changes, players with a lower SBMM rating will see a much higher level of AI-controlled players in their lobbies as opposed to real people, with the number of bots in a given lobby being greatly reduced at higher skill levels.
Of course,AI-controlled players were not a feature ofFortnite’s original seasons, with this matchmaking change creating a huge disconnect betweenFortniteOG and the nostalgic era that it is trying to replicate. This bold change toFortniteOG is still a hotly-debated and seemingly quite divisive element of the mode, taking a lot of attention away from what should otherwise be a time of celebration, with Epic Games potentially making further tweaks to how SBMM works within the mode going forward because of this.
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WHERE TO PLAY
Create, play, and battle with friends for free in Fortnite. Be the last player standing in Battle Royale and Zero Build, experience a concert or live event, or discover over a million creator made games, including racing, parkour, zombie survival, and more. Each Fortnite island has an individual age rating so you may find the one that’s right for you and your friends.Explore large, destructible environments where no two games are ever the same. Team up with friends by sprinting, climbing and smashing your way to earn your Victory Royale, whether you choose to build up in Fortnite Battle Royale or go no-builds in Fortnite Zero Build.Discover even more ways to play across thousands of creator-made game genres: adventure, roleplay, survival and more. Or, band together with up to three friends to fend off hordes of monsters in Save the World.
