Report Shows the Dark Side of Fortnite's Constant Updates

A report from Polygon shows just how hard it is to work on a game as successful as Fortnite Battle Royale.

Fortnite might be the biggest game in history. It hasn't been around long enough to surpass the staying power of popular MMOs and games like CS:GO - but the trajectory tells us it will get there.

One of the reasons that Fortnite is so popular is because of the constant updates. Think about it: Epic released v8.30 two weeks ago and we're staring down the barrel of v8.50 coming tomorrow.

Epic has found a loophole in the beta testing system. On PC, updates can be pushed through without revision. Xbox and PS4 require that Sony and Microsoft look at the patches before releasing on full games - not on betas, though.

Fortnite is never going to come out of the beta stage, which means they can release weekly patches and content updates for all platforms.

There is a dark side to a constantly updating game, but it's one that the community doesn't see very much. Developers need to work insane hours to keep up the pace, as Polygon recently uncovered by interviewing several current and former Epic employees.

"In a dozen interviews conducted by Polygon over a period of several months, current and former employees say they regularly worked in excess of 70-hour weeks, with some reporting 100-hour weeks. Contract staff in Epic’s quality assurance and customer service departments spoke of a stressful and hostile working environment in which working overtime — while officially voluntary — was an expected service to the company."

The article went on to quote Epic employees who claim that while the company gives unlimited time off, it's nearly impossible to take that time.

“I hardly sleep. I’m grumpy at home. I have no energy to go out. Getting a weekend away from work is a major achievement," One employee told Polygon. "If I take a Saturday off, I feel guilty. I’m not being forced to work this way, but if I don’t, then the job won’t get done.”

Much of the article echoed the same complaints from Epic employees: the offices are a mess, the hours are too much, and people are losing their jobs because they can't or won't handle the workload.

Epic has struck gold with Fortnite, but it appears as though something has got to give. The current workload is unsustainable, and there's a chance the game will suffer from the constant updates.

Although we as a community give the Epic developers a lot of grief, they're clearly working as hard as they can on the game. In reality, the fault lies at the feet at Epic executives, who insist on keeping the game "fresh" for returning players.

I don't think many of us would mind if Epic dialed back on their constantly updating game. They should take some time away from thinking about the next useless or overpowered item they want to add, and more time fixing bugs in a more relaxed manner.

This Polygon report was widely circulated upon its release, so there's no denying the situation over at Epic Games HQ. Will this news change anything, or will Fortnite - in the words of DJ Khaled - start suffering from success.