In Fortnite, we can see Goku armed with a rifle facing off against a Star Wars Imperial soldier, or even vote in The Game Awards. Thanks to its numerous collaborations, the Epic Games video game hosts a vast amount of content that all players, from the youngest to the oldest, can enjoy (most of the time by paying, though).
However, the abundance of content in Fortnite that can be played by people of practically all ages poses a serious problem for Epic. The company must ensure that no child plays or views content that is not suitable for their age. To prevent greater harm, Fortnite has implemented a new age and content classification system this week.
“Starting today, each experience (island) published in Fortnite will have an age and content rating,” Epic comments in a post on the official Fortnite website. “This will help parents and players know what kind of titles they want to play from the thousands available in Fortnite.”
Epic clarifies that while there are thousands of skins available in all Fortnite experiences, ‘a small portion of them is not compatible with E or E10+ age ratings (or their equivalent in other regions).’ When this happens, players will see a new icon in their locker and in the item shop indicating the outfits and accessories that cannot be equipped on islands with a rating below the specified threshold.
In the event that a player equips one of these items and enters an island with a rating below the established threshold, the item will be displayed as one that is compatible with the island’s rating (for example, in the case of an outfit, the skin would appear as the default Fortnite outfit).
However, Epic’s post does not specify the criteria that make a skin unsuitable for certain experiences. While the rating of some skins might make sense due to the inclusion of certain elements or belonging to a product aimed at older audiences, others might be ‘censored’ without an apparent reason.
