Since the release of Fortnite Battle Royale in September 201, it’s been a relatively smooth ride to the top for Epic Games – establishing Fortnite as the most-played and most-profitable game in the world in just a space of a few months.

Seasons 1 through 9 played out relatively uneventfully, only being plagued by minor controversies requiring the occasional bug fix, nerf or weapon to be vaulted.

However, Season 10 was different. With the arrival of the B.R.U.T.E Mech came a huge backlash from casual players, professional players, and streamers alike.

The mechs were immediately controversial for their overpowered weapons, range, speed and health. Securing a B.R.U.T.E mech early in the game essentially guaranteed you placed in the Top 10 – and piloting one successfully (which, honestly, doesn’t require much skill) pretty much locked down a victory royale.

The state of the game stagnated, with Epic Games infamously posting on Reddit to state that they had no immediate plans to nerf the Mechs, promoting a massive backlash from the community. Worse still – some famous streamers began rage-quitting tournaments with real money cash prizes – purely because of the mechs.

Famously, the revival of Minecraft and the release of ‘Classic’ World of Warcraft and even Overwatch Role Queue all arrived when all of this controversy was occurring, leading some to speculate that Fortnite was going to be toppled from the top spot it has occupied over the last 2 years.

On 22nd August, Epic Games finally announced that it would nerf the B.R.U.T.E – but for some, the damage has already been done and a sour taste has been left in the community. Are we beginning to see the beginning of the end for Fortnite?

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