UCLA Esports Scrubs Fortnite From Lineup Over Competitive Issues

UCLA Esports, the university's first officially recognized esports club, has announced a decision that has some Fortnite fans upset: it won't include Epic Games' own competitive battle royale game in its 2019 – 2020 season. The organization cites a number of reasons for its decision, including issues with game balance.

UCLA Esports was founded in 2017 as an organization for professional gameplay, and it recently released its 2019-2020 season lineup. Gamers with a particular talent for Overwatch, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Rocket League, and Dota 2 can attempt to join its ranks, but Fortnite players are left out.

The decision to exclude Epic Games' wildly popular battle royale title was made after a 'secondary internal review,' according to a notice from the organization. The game was originally included on the list, but was removed from the lineup due to multiple issues, UCLA Esports said.

Game balance in Fortnite Competitive was cited as one reason for the decision, as well as a 'lack of a consistent collegiate organizer' and issues with the game's competitive experience in general. The organization didn't provide full details on all of the reasons it decided to exclude the battle royale game.

It's no secret that Fortnite has experienced a number of competitive issues, past examples being things like game balance problems, overpowered weapons, the frequent addition and removal of weapons that disrupts strategies, and bugs that have negatively affected players, including getting stuck in vehicles. The most recent concern involves the new 'storm flipper' weapon, which causes a large storm to generate anywhere the player throws the item.