LGBTQ Controversy in Fortnite

NOTE: Gaming Cypher supports all people – regardless of race, religion, roots, economic status, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the entire world. It has a massive daily player base on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. As of writing, it has over 3 million active players. It reached its all-time peak number of players at one time with over 11 million players all playing at the same time.

Fortnite has recently come into the radar of @xGavinMcInnes for having LGBTQ+ game modes in it. One interesting thing about this is that I couldn’t find these game modes on the front page of the main menu. This means I had to search for it in the search box. I did, however, find it.

There are a few game modes that are user created within the game. One game mode is called LGBTQ+, which allows the players to play in a colorful area against each other. Its tagline says, “Feel free with who you are and enjoy the game! Spread love.” This would fall within the guidelines of 1.15.3 of the Fortnite Island Creator Rules as romantic themes.

“1.15.3. Nudity & Sexually Suggestive Themes: Romantic themes are permitted, but must not go as far as strong or frequent sexually suggestive themes and references. Depictions of full nudity or sexual activities are not permitted in any form.”

However, there is another game mode that seems to ride the fence on a different guideline. The aforementioned game mode is called Straight VS LGBTQ Box Fights, which pits players against each other. The players need to pick one side or the other and then shoot each other until that team wins. According to Guideline 1.1 this could be seen as promoting violence against the LGBTQ+ community and vice versa.

“1.1 A Safe Environment – Don’t create content involving or promoting illegal activities, including harassment, bullying, assault, doxing, swatting, gambling, illegal drugs, animal cruelty, fraud, hacking, and piracy. Content that condones or incites violence against others has no place in Fortnite.”

It will be interesting to see if this particular game mode is taken down. The other game types found seem to be perfectly within the Fortnite Island Creator Rules.

Allegedly, these game modes were advertised to his son. I wonder what caused the algorithm to recommend it. I wonder if they were actively searching for it. Either way, there hasn’t been any conclusive evidence to suggest video games cause violence. With that in mind, I think it’s safe to say these game modes won’t cause your children to “go straight or gay.”

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Related: Rumors about More Xbox Games Coming to PlayStation

Matthew Davis

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I was born and raised in a town so small there were more cows than people. I joined the USAF as soon as I could, and I currently reside in San Antonio. I am a singer/songwriter on the side, but I've been a gamer since birth. I grew up with PlayStation and Nintendo, though, I don't discriminate between consoles and PC. I have a PC with a 3080, Steam Deck, and a PS5.

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