Popular DJ and frequent Fortnite collaborator Marshmello has weighed in on the BRUTE mech controversy in Fortnite, following weeks of community outrage.
Marshmello is known as a frequent collaborator of Epic Games and a huge fan of the third person battle royale. He won 2018’s Fortnite Pro AM alongside Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, and had an exclusive in-game event featuring a concert in Pleasant Park.
While frequently supportive of the game, it appears Marshmello’s patience is wearing thin, along with a significant portion of the Fortnite community.
Fortnite’s Season X saw the introduction of BRUTE Mechs. Many well-known community members, including Soleil ‘EwOk’ Wheeler and Ali ‘Myth’ Kabbani, have argued that they are overpowered and do not have sufficient counters.
On August 15, Epic Games provided an update regarding their ‘Fortnite Philosophy’, explaining that they are trying to create a gaming environment in which anyone can achieve a victory royale. While BRUTEs are unbalanced, they provide an opportunity for less skilled players to be successful.
On August 21, Fortnite’s official Instagram account posted a teaser for the game’s collaboration with MajorLazer, another popular DJ. However, Marshmello didn’t seem interested in the collaboration, simply commenting: “Vault the mech!!!”
It’s not the first time a collaborator of Epic Games’ has criticized the inclusion of mechs in Fortnite.
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Also on August 21, caster and presenter for Fortnite, Jack ‘CouRage’ Dunlop, slammed the mechs and even stopped playing in the $400,000 ‘Twitch Rivals’ in protest at the mech’s inclusion.
It’s also not the first time a celebrity fan of Fortnite has lashed out at the developers. Back in March, soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic tweeted at Fortnite to revert the v8.20 update, which took siphon out of the game. Despite the backlash, siphon was not brought back to Fortnite’s base modes.
Epic Games have been standing firm on the BRUTEs in Fortnite but the backlash seems to be growing as the community grows impatient at the lack of decisive action taken by the developers.
As more and more community figures criticize Epic’s approach, it seems increasingly likely that we’ll see a change soon – or at least another update on why they are staying.
Regardless of Epic’s reasoning, Marshmello – and countless others – aren’t fans of the giant robots.
