Fortnite fans split by 200-player lobby tease

Sometimes, it really is a case of bigger is better. This seems to be the mantra Fortnite is going for, with Epic Games teasing a much bigger version of your favourite battle royale bloodbath. For as long as we can remember, Fortnite has been a 100-player brawl, dumping us off the Battle Bus and onto an ever-evolving map.

Whether it be Sqauds, Solos, or Zero Build, it's typically 100 players in a match of Fortnite. There have been exceptions to the rules, like the 32-player Team Rumble or 40-player Reload, but picture the scene where we have even more players on the map. Pray for the servers because 200-player Fortnite could be on the way.

Epic Games CEO teases 200-player Fortnite lobbies

Call of Duty: Warzone is typically locked into 120-player lobbies, although we have had 200-player lobbies for special LTMs. Keen to keep ahead of the competition, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has hinted that Fortnite could introduce its own 200-player smorgasbord. 

In an interview with Matthew Ball, Sweeney confirmed Epic is working on Unreal Engine 6, and with a souped-up engine, there's the potential to increase the maximum lobby size. Sweeney explained that the game had originally intended to launch with bigger lobbies, but due to server restrictions, it was capped at 100 players. 

"Why is Fortnite: Battle Royale 100 players?" said Sweeney. "Well, because at the time we launched it, we couldn’t make 200 players work on a server. Computers in the data center were just too slow." He promised that it's "going to evolve a lot" but noted there are still "limitations of the current technology that we’re working within."

200-player BR lobbies could soon be a reality, but when the news was shared on Reddit, it became clear that not everyone was sold on the idea. Notably, Fortnite is accused of having a bit of a bot problem, and if it sometimes struggles to fill a standard 100-player lobby, imagine doubling that.

Discussing 200-player lobbies, one critic moaned, "180 bots and 20 players." Another added, "It just means that the casuals are going to have even less chance at winning games," and a third said, "My Switch can barely handle Team Rumble, this would just light it on fire." 

Others simply weren't keen on the idea, as someone else wrote, "Would be a fun ltm but sounds awful to be forced to play." Another concluded, "It just means that the casuals are going to have even less chance at winning games." It's important to note that Sweeney hasn't confirmed 200-player lobbies but simply suggested he's keen on the idea.

There are some logistical problems when it comes to 200-player lobbies, but with Fortnite having evolved massively since it moved into UE5, we're excited to see where it could go with another overhaul. More players would undoubtedly mean a bigger map, and with Epic proving it can design a rich and colourful world, it looks like the future of Fortnite is a bright one.