The launch of Epic Games' Fortnite Season 3 yesterday has players actively trying to unlock all of the new Battle Pass content, including a character skin based on Jason Momoa's Aquaman from the DCEU. One notable player who will not have the chance is YouTuber SerpentAU, who announced Tuesday that he got banned from the battle royale after another content creator by the name of EJLad put out a video accusing him of cheating.
EJLad's profanity-laden video, which premiered on June 5, 2020, alleged that SerpentAU uses aimbots and "macros," which he describes as a means of linking multiple actions together on one key. In a response uploaded by SerpentAU on June 7, he says the evidence was "circumstantial," but that even if he was able to disprove the claims they had already made a dent in his Fortnite-playing career.
However, on June 9 the competitive team Overtime Gaming announced it released SerpentAU because, "We absolutely do not condone this type of behaviour and will be taking more pre-cautions in the future," and on June 13 the YouTuber released an apology on Twitter saying they "saw an opportunity and decided to take it" without thinking about the severity of the actions. On top of cheating, Fortnite has also banned players such as 9-year-old Zenon for taking part in official competitive tournaments while underaged in the past.
As of this writing, SerpentAU's response video on YouTube is the last thing posted, as is the Twitter post announcing his ban. This marks a rather dramatic turnaround from his having reached 500,000 subscribers on May 31. The more online-focused multiplayer games grow, the more developers are focused on curbing cheating, as seen with other titles like Activision's Call of Duty: Warzone banning 50,000 players in April.
Epic Games' battle royale only seems to be growing in popularity by the day, bolstered by it shaking things up through live events and new content. Fortnite Season 3: Splashdown began with a live event called "The Device" that was viewed by over 20 million people.
In the wake of ongoing Black Lives Matter protests around the country, companies like Activision and Infinity Ward have also been focusing on racist and hateful content in their games and esports communities. For instance, a League of Legends coach was fired earlier this month after Riot Games suspended him for using "discriminatory language" during personal games.
Fortnite is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: EJLad, SerpentAU, Overtime Gaming