Epic Games has responded to player criticism and discreetly removed the bot plague from Fortnite OG lobbies, returning the gaming experience to normal.
Anyone who has entered the Fortnite OG lobbies in recent weeks has likely noticed that many opponents seemed a bit too weak.
A test conducted by leaker AllyJax revealed that an astonishing 88% of the players in these lobbies were not real people but bots. This means only 12 out of 100 players were actual human opponents.
This revelation caused quite a stir in the community, raising questions about why there were so many bots in the lobbies despite the overwhelming interest in Fortnite OG.
After facing massive backlash on social media, Epic Games responded by releasing an update that addressed the bot problem.
Epic Games’ silent fix
Interestingly, this change was not officially announced.
Unlike other updates that Epic typically promotes loudly across its social media platforms, this adjustment was quietly implemented without fanfare.
Even the FortniteStatus Twitter channel, which usually reports such changes, remained silent and was temporarily offline on the day of the update.
Downtime for v33.11 has ended! pic.twitter.com/YTvRFKw7hQ
— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) December 18, 2024
Fortnite OG reintroduces the original map from 2017, still regarded by the community as the best Fortnite map to date.
With nostalgic locations like Dusty Depot, Tilted Towers, and Anarchy Acres, Epic Games successfully brought players back to the game’s early days, earning widespread praise.
FORTNITE MESSED UP OG AGAIN: You cannot find a lobby with more than 12 Players anymore. All OG lobbies have 88 Bots now.. Surely it's a mistake [VIA @Wensoing & @AllyJax_] pic.twitter.com/6FW9qIsc1m
— HYPEX (@HYPEX) December 19, 2024
Despite this enthusiasm, AllyJax discovered a surprising number of bots in the lobbies, raising further questions about why they were so prevalent, especially when the OG map was so well received.
It remains unclear whether this influx of bots was an error or a deliberate decision by Epic Games.
Yeah ok, player cap is 12, it's impossible to get less than 88 fucking botsgg's (again)
— AllyJax (@AllyJax_) December 19, 2024
Improvements, but questions remain
In response to the community’s complaints, Epic Games acted quickly, releasing an update to resolve the issue.
A new test by AllyJax shows that lobbies now average 53 human players, marking a significant improvement.
Epic have just adjusted this. The real player count is MUCH lower still, but it is no longer capped at 12. https://t.co/3VDOc7JuvY pic.twitter.com/E4XECiv9xM
— AllyJax (@AllyJax_) December 19, 2024
However, the question remains: why aren’t there more real players in the lobbies, especially given the immense success of Fortnite OG?
At the very least, players no longer encounter bots that miss every shot and aimlessly tear down walls.
Have you noticed the reduction in bots or the silent update? Share your experiences in the comments below!