Fortnite fans have been waiting for the return of its original 50v50 limited-time mode (LTM) for years, but the renewed version is reportedly full of more bots than real players.
In 50v50, two teams of 50 players fight to be the last ones standing on the original Fortnite map — at least that’s the pitch. In reality, the 50-player teams aren’t all real players. There are AI-controlled bots mixed in presumably to help balance games and keep queue times low, but seasoned players aren’t happy about it.
“That’s ridiculous. I was hoping I’d be able to re-experience how it was back in the day somewhat where you’d win a game being last alive against like 10 players or more,” Reddit user Zenith_Atom wrote in a thread about the bot problem. “Now looks like it’s gunna be 10v10 Players VS 40v40 AI Bots. Made the comeback of the LTM pointless.”
half the team in 50v50 is bots this brings me immense pain
might as well be 25v25 at that point
pic.twitter.com/msul4bkxTq
— bee (@BeeYourseIves) March 25, 2025
Bots are typically a way for developers to onboard new players with easier opponents as they learn the game. Marvel Rivals will put you against teams of bots when you first start playing, for example. But they’re also used to quickly fill empty slots so you’re not waiting too long for a match, especially in games like Fortnite where there are tons of different modes to play.
While casual players might not notice the difference between a real player and a bot, seasoned Fortnite players can sniff them out from a mile away. To them, it trivializes matches and ruins the spirit of a mode like 50v50, which didn’t originally have bots. And more practically: Bots can be a liability in a mode where the only way to respawn is to be revived by another player.
“Why should I bother trying to rez somebody if they’re just gonna be a bot and instantly die again?” asked X user Ridiculous_Ties.
The players most likely to be bummed out by bots are the ones who would be excited for 50v50 to come back in the first place, so it does seem like a risky choice. But I also doubt most people care as much as long-time players. Just like all the technically inaccurate changes in Blizzard’s World of Warcraft remake World of Warcraft Classic, it might not be feasible to perfectly recreate Fortnite’s original 50v50 mode without introducing new problems. This might be the best we get.
Fortnite OG Chapter 1 Season 3’s 50v50 mode will stick around until April 14.
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