Fortnite will introduce mandatory map age ratings later this month.
Fortnite’s landscape is evolving. Personally, I primarily enjoy playing its battle royale mode – likely what most people imagine of Fortnite initially but now no longer its primary feature.
Creative mode was initially released back in 2018 to give users the ability to craft maps and minigames of their own creation. While Creative wasn’t immediately popular enough to dislodge classic battle royale mode from being at the top spot, things changed once Epic Games introduced Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), offering users much greater creative freedom with far greater possibilities compared to its predecessor – recent fan efforts OnlyUp Fortnite and The Fortnite Survival Games both drawing thousands of players each. Epic has announced how UEFN maps now drawing more players than classic modes so Epic Games plans on crackdown age moderation measures by crackdown policies being put into effect.
As is widely recognized, Fortnite carries a PEGI 12 rating; however, that hasn’t stopped younger players from sneaking onto it and enjoying themselves. Chat moderation has long been discussed within the games industry; now Epic’s focus will turn toward moderating its widely popular user-created maps through Epic UFN (UEFN for short), according to Eurogamer reports that starting next month all content will receive individual age ratings for identification.
On November 14th, Epic will begin rolling out this new system, proclaiming it will enable their “multi-game ecosystem” to flourish further. Ratings will use International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) processes. Creators may submit questionnaires through which IARC issues region-specific ratings.
“Epic’s implementation of IARC rating system into Fortnite reinforces its dedication to equipping families with tools necessary for making informed choices about which experiences are suitable for their children,” noted Patricia Vance, President & Chairperson for IARC Rating Committee of Entertainment Software Rating Boards & Consumer Council (ESRB/IARC). With Fortnite expanding from battle royale roots into an ecosystem containing content from Epic as well as third party creators such as creators such as Disney or Netflix creators containing multiple media types it’s especially essential that parents have clarity as regards understanding what content their children want accessing or whether.
Parents will soon have the power to lock maps with specific age ratings, restricting underage users from accessing content created for UEFN that they currently enjoy freely.
