According to leaks, Fortnite Creative will soon add a proximity chat feature; players fear it will “doom” the game mode.
At present, the only way to communicate with other players in Fortnite is through standard voice chat features for people on the same team or in shared lobbies.
Rumors of Epic Games potentially adding proximity chat have been circulating for several months, though. Proximity chat functions as the name suggests, letting players use the in-game chat system to hear communications when characters are close to each other.
Warzone 2, notably, introduced the feature in 2023, creating situations wherein players can eavesdrop on their enemies and gain a better understanding of their location, plans, etc.
Reputable leakers HYPEX and iFireMonkey claim the same functionality will “soon” hit Fortnite Creative. Thus far, the community is divided on whether or not such an addition counts as good or bad news.
Some people in the replies to HYPEX’s post have expressed an interest in seeing proximity chat in the main game. “Add it to the main game now,” wrote content creator FNATIC Stallion in all caps.
YouTuber Pluto V2 joined the chorus with, “We need this in Pubs ngl.”
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Not everyone’s on board, however. Several users think proximity chat in Fortnite Creative will prove ruinous for the mode. One person simply responded with, “We are DOOMED.”
Others think the new feature will likely result in a massive increase of “accounts getting insta banned.”
Of course, there are also concerns about bad actors who will abuse the feature to harass fellow players. One person explained, “Yeah, I just know this is gonna be a horrible idea especially what’s been happening with content creators these days and customs people not behaving, cursing, and being racist.”
Such a sentiment was echoed by Fortnite Creator NickEh30 who asked, “Can we keep it family-friendly?” Players remain skeptical as ever, considering the responses to his post.
Reads one comment, “I doubt people are going to be family-friendly. Have you seen Call of Duty voice chats?”
Though Epic has yet to announce proximity chat, Fortnite players already expect the worst amid backlash to Item Shop changes.