The new Fortnite update v29.30 has finally arrived on PS5 and Xbox, and Epic Games has introduced a potentially mental-saving measure that allows you to remove some of the game’s most tilting emotes. The new ‘See Confrontational Emotes’ setting will allow you to stop seeing four specific Fortnite emotes, though it’s caught some flak in the process.
“We want emotes to be a source of good vibes, but a few (*cough* Take the L *cough*) can sometimes feel a bit overly confrontational,” Fortnite tweets. Alongside Take the L, Laugh It Up, Whipcrack, and Make It Plantain have all made it onto the battle royale game’s emote hit list.
If you’re wondering where to find the setting, simply head into the ‘Social Privacy’ section of the multiplayer game’s ‘Account and Privacy’ settings tab and you’ll find it nestled at the bottom. Here you can choose whether to see the emotes from anyone, from friends in your party – a nice touch if you and the homies still want to dish out the disrespect without having to worry about taking it – or from no one.
I don’t know if Epic will expand the list in the future, though this wouldn’t come as a surprise to me. As one ‘toxic’ emote falls, more will rise like a hydra regrowing its heads. I can imagine the developer won’t want to get too ban-happy, though, otherwise it’ll completely defeat the point of having the emotes in the first place. Epic’s announcement post for this feature is inundated with comments from content creators lambasting the move for being “soft,” but I think the move has a major benefit outside of stopping kids from being emoted on by grown adults – even if it’s all in the (mean) spirit of the game.
Though I was forged in the fires of 2000s Call of Duty lobbies – a godless land where anything went – I totally understand why some would want to save their mental by toggling off some of a competitive game’s most infuriating emotes. It’s no different to muting chat, and we all know a good mentality is key to performing our best and winning games. Some say the game’s gone soft by introducing this measure, but it could actually serve as a sort of performance aid – it’s all a matter of perspective.
Fortnite isn’t the first game to take action on in-game content that has garnered a toxic reputation over time. In FIFA 21, EA Sports decided to completely remove two goal celebrations from multiplayer modes that were being used heavily by players to taunt opponents – the ‘Shush’ and the ‘A-OK’.
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