Last week, Fortnite fans found themselves frustrated when the game was hit with significant technical issues that rendered the game unplayable for several hours.
During the downtime shortly after the release of the Chug Jug update, Epic Games also began efforts to fix an existing database issue. Unfortunately, things didn't go well and Epic was forced to restore from a backup. The first attempt at this backup was unsuccessful, resulting in an extended maintenance period and lengthy queues to log-in once the servers were back online.
Later in the week, Fortnite players also reported problems with logging in, social features, and forming parties. Given that Fortnite also had server issues and long queues earlier in the month, the recent technical issues in the game were particularly upsetting for fans.
Epic Games seems to realize how upset fans are, though, and the developer has now announced plans to provide compensation in apology for the server downtime. In a post on the game's official forums, a representative for the Fortnite team confirms that players will receive compensation following the release of the V.2.4.0 patch. Fortnite Battle Royale players will receive 20 Battle Stars towards their Battle Pass progression, while Fortnite Save the World players will get 1600 Seasonal Gold to spend in the Event Store.
Epic Games has also suggested that players who have maxed out their Battle Passes will receive some rewards too. "We'll be looking into ways to make things right with players who have already completed their Battle Passes," says the Fortnite team representative. The team has not yet made a decision on exactly what that reward will be, but the representative promised more updates once a decision has been made.
Fortnite is a hugely popular game; so popular that it essentially killed Epic Games' other title, Paragon. With that in mind, it's safe to assume there were plenty of players disappointed to find the game was unplayable, even if it was only for one day.
But most of the players who were impacted by the server downtime and the technical issues seem to be letting bygones be bygones and have accepted the offer of compensation. Epic Games may well run out of goodwill if the game experiences anything like this again in the near future, but for now, the communication and the compensation have kept fans from being outraged.
Fortnite is available now in early access on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Epic Games