Epic Games Updates Fortnite to Let Players Block ‘Confrontational Emotes’, Including ‘Take the L’
In a significant move for Fortnite, Epic Games has added a new setting that allows players to block certain emotes deemed to be used in confrontational ways. The ‘Confrontational Emotes’ setting, introduced in the v29.30 update on April 23rd, gives players the option to toggle the visibility of four specific emotes: Laugh It Up, Take the L, Whipcrack, and Make It Plantain.
Players who choose to block these emotes will instead see a player using the emote standing still, without any sound. Epic explained this decision in a tweet, stating, ‘We want emotes to be a source of good vibes, but a few (*cough* Take the L *cough*) can sometimes feel a bit overly confrontational.’
The new setting can be found under ‘Social Privacy’ and defaults to only showing these emotes from friends in your party. However, players can change this setting to see these emotes from any player or not at all.
This change marks a shift for Fortnite, which initially saw significant success due in part to revenue-generating emotes. Some of these emotes became globally recognized dances, even being performed by soccer players as goal celebrations.
The response to this move has been mixed within the Fortnite community. Some express disbelief that Epic would allow players to block any emote, especially some of the most famous ones. Others defend the decision, arguing that even with these emotes disabled, players will still see their own avatar perform them.
Critics of the change have suggested that Epic offer refunds on the listed emotes since players purchased them specifically for the purpose of trolling others. Some also speculate whether players will resort to using other emotes for trolling and if Epic will expand the list of blockable emotes in the future.
