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A Fortnite producer, in a Reddit AMA held on Friday, said developers have considered adding a respawn feature to the game’s signature battle royale mode, and that players should stay tuned for more on the subject when the next season begins.
“We’ve been considering this mechanic for a while and have been exploring it,” an Epic Games producer said. Developers want to “give it the time it needs and fully understand its impact on the game as a whole.”
Fortnite seasons typically last about two months, and the current Season 7 began in early December. That’s not to say such a feature is coming to the game with Season 8, but the producer did say to “look for further updates” at that time.
Respawning would seem to be anathema to the standard idea of a battle royale, where the goal is to be the last one surviving. But Apex Legends, the surprise-launch battle royale that isn’t even a month old, seems to have included the concept sensibly. In Apex Legends, downed players may be revived if a living player takes their tag and brings it to a respawn point. It keeps eliminated players around to watch, at least, and Apex Legends players seem to find it useful among the many innovations that game has delivered.
Nobody from Epic Games commented further or committed to anything regarding respawning in the rest of the wide-ranging AMA. A designer mentioned that the team is “working on a new single-occupancy vehicle” but isn’t yet sure how, or if, it fits in with the Driftboard, the hovering snowboard that came in just last week after being delayed from the beginning of Season 7.
