Epic pulls police cars from Fortnite

[midian182]

A hot potato: If you’re a Fortnite player, you might have noticed there’s a sudden lack of police cars on the map following the recent update. The decision is a response to the Black Lives Matter protests taking place across much of the world, though Epic says it wasn’t trying to make a political statement.

Fortnite’s Chapter 2 Season 3 update, which arrived on June 17, brought some major changes, including a large section of the map being flooded with water.

As Kotaku points out, Fortnite’s map used to be covered in vehicles such as trucks, passenger cars, ice cream trucks, and police cars, and they also appeared in Creative mode as pre-fab vehicles used for decoration. Following last week’s update, however, police cars have vanished from the battle royale title.

Players speculate that the decision was in response to the Black Lives Matter protests. One redditor wrote: “Later in the season people would be able to drive cars and if someone was shooting you from a police car (if they can do that) that’s a bad thing and it would cause all sorts of controversy.”

According to a Wall Street Journal source, this wasn’t a “political statement” by Epic; the company was just trying to be “sensitive about the issues” that players are dealing with right now.

The BLM movement has been supported by several game companies, including a message appearing in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the temporary shutdowns of GTA Online and Red Dead Online. We’ve also seen events such as Sony’s original PS5 reveal date pushed back, the cancelation of reality TV shows Cops and Live PD, and renewed calls for the terms ‘blacklist,’ ‘whitelist,’ and ‘master/slave’ to be replaced.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/85715-epic-pulls-police-cars-fortnite.html

 

[Irata]

Seriously? In a game where players shoot each other?

 

[Buhaj]

I'm waiting for the police to be removed from GTA to appease BLM.

 

[winjer]

Some companies are so desperate to try to appear woke, that they will resort to the dumbest actions.

How can someone at Epic, be so intellectually limited, to think this was a good idea?

 

[rondean2000]

This political correctness gone to the maximum extreme, getting totally out of control with companies falling all over themselves trying to appease one segment of the population. Get real Epic!!

 

[psycros]

We're living a well-orchestrated Orwellian nightmare now. Never, EVER say it can't happen here, because its happening. BTW, Discord has also endorsed BLM and branded all white people as racist. Lots of people uninstalling now.

 

[tacobravo]

Intolerance is the new tolerance

 

[winjer]

This seems more like the political commissars in the USSR. Always verifying if all that people did or said was according to the comunist party guidelines.

 

[okie11]

Just another has been company trying to stay relevant. Get woke go broke. I boycott any company that tries to appease the childish behavior of these *****s.

 

[Uncle Al]

To say the situation has gotten a little out of hand is an understatement. If we eliminate all the colorful terms, titles, etc. this would will be so entirely bland you'll have to eliminate terms like "Republican, Democrat", or "black, white", or, God forbid, "male, female". I'm all for police reform, governmental reform, and elimination of blatantly racists terms but I can't see how brand names or sports team names has ever damaged anyone. We simply need good balance. We if don't find an acceptable level of balance then the pendulum will swing the other way and we'll see a white uprising and equally ridicules attacks on anything that is non-white.

 

[Adi6293]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA F U EPIC

 

[Skjorn]

Also don't forget Paw Patrol and Aunt Jemima. If they aren't careful they will ruin the movement they started. The BLM founder said she was a trained Marxist.

We're living a well-orchestrated Orwellian nightmare now. Never, EVER say it can't happen here, because its happening. BTW, Discord has also endorsed BLM and branded all white people as racist. Lots of people uninstalling now.

Haha really? I want to see what they said.

 

[candle_86]

Epic hasn't been relevant since it 2k3 anyway

 

[Rayneofpayne]

Also don't forget Paw Patrol and Aunt Jemima. If they aren't careful they will ruin the movement they started. The BLM founder said she was a trained Marxist.

Haha really? I want to see what they said.

Too bad Marx was an open racist which makes them look even more stupid.

 

[p51d007]

What a f'ing joke!
But GTA, it's ok to have all sorts of murdering left & right.

 

[wiyosaya]

Seriously? In a game where players shoot each other?

You would not want someone to get arrested while in the game would you? ?

<...> branded all white people as racist.

I'm sure you heard that from an authority - Rush Limbaugh.

This seems more like the political commissars in the USSR. Always verifying if all that people did or said was according to the comunist party guidelines.

Are you speaking from personal experience? These companies are choosing to do this on their own. The difference, in the USSR it would have been mandated by the government.

Typical reactions. Panic attacks. Everyone's triggered.

What a f'ing joke!
But GTA, it's ok to have all sorts of murdering left & right.

Maybe those police cars will show up in GTA! ?

 

[winjer]

Are you speaking from personal experience? These companies are choosing to do this on their own. The difference, in the USSR it would have been mandated by the government.

No, my country never got a communist regime.But we had a fascist government.
Ideology might be different, but the repressive methods are similar.

Regarding the US, it's true that these actions are being mandated by companies.
But inside these companies, people have to follow these rules, or they risk getting fired. We have seen this happening to a few people.
But if ever you get a government with a extreme left or extreme right ideology, they will implement something similar to party commissars.
Remember that the main enemy of the far left and the far right, are the moderates.

 

[wiyosaya]

No, my country never got a communist regime.But we had a fascist government.
Ideology might be different, but the repressive methods are similar.

Regarding the US, it's true that these actions are being mandated by companies.
But inside these companies, people have to follow these rules, or they risk getting fired. We have seen this happening to a few people.
But if ever you get a government with a extreme left or extreme right ideology, they will implement something similar to party commissars.
Remember that the main enemy of the far left and the far right, are the moderates.

Thanks for your concern. There are those of us that are well aware of what is happening right now in the US with the extreme 45th administration. We are well aware that his "rule" is consistent with those who abuse power elsewhere in the world.

However, there are those in the US, from my perspective, anyway, who think 45 and his administration cannot possibly do anything wrong.

Personally, I care not about the politics. If this administration were on the other side of the fence and doing exactly the same things, I would also be against it, too.

As to companies changing these things, there is the court system. It is not an ideal option by far, but at least it is an option.

IMO, it is the economic systems that are the problem - though I will not get into that here.

 

[Mister_K]

Some companies are so desperate to try to appear woke, that they will resort to the dumbest actions.

How can someone at Epic, be so intellectually limited, to think this was a good idea?

People in general are like this "appear woke". During the whole black squares social media trend for (#blm) *****s just posted it up with the hash tags. Yeah mate you are so "woke" amazing, great contribution to the cause, I bet you feel like you are some angel saving humanity and your conscience is now clear.

Instead they should have download real stories, videos, pictures whatever to bring to the attention the systemic racism that is happening with the hashtags, not ****ing black squares the plebs...

/endrant

Anyway it's usually your marketing team, a lot of them are just bloody *****s that are being overpaid (good marketing is hard to find these days).

 

[CPO2U]

Some companies are so desperate to try to appear woke, that they will resort to the dumbest actions.

How can someone at Epic, be so intellectually limited, to think this was a good idea?

I'm black, full-on BLM activist.. and even I think this is a dumb idea.

 

[CPO2U]

No, my country never got a communist regime.But we had a fascist government.
Ideology might be different, but the repressive methods are similar.

Regarding the US, it's true that these actions are being mandated by companies.
But inside these companies, people have to follow these rules, or they risk getting fired. We have seen this happening to a few people.
But if ever you get a government with a extreme left or extreme right ideology, they will implement something similar to party commissars.
Remember that the main enemy of the far left and the far right, are the moderates.

Honestly I would prefer that these gaming companies ADD more police brutality INTO the GAME, if it meant they (the deep-pocketed gaming companies) do some outreach to needy COMMUNITIES of REAL PEOPLE who need the financial help. I'd like to hear, "Such and such game company set aside 10% of their profits for the next 3 years, to help fund the reopening of community centers, to help KEEP people from encounters with police". Or at least make a 1-time SIZEABLE donation to non-profits and organizations that are affiliated with BLM and DefundPolice movements.

Instead, they are removing digital artifacts from a game in which the point is to SHOOT AND MURDER EACH OTHER WITH GUNS.

Virtual "shows" of support are just that: virtual, and For Show.

I have zero respect for these companies and their "woke" social media BS.

 

[Grok451]

Another company goes for the gold? in the "Woke Olympics Competition."

Or maybe EPIC just wants a participation trophy?

 

[CPO2U]

Another company goes for the gold? in the "Woke Olympics Competition."

Or maybe EPIC just wants a participation trophy?

Definitely a participation trophy. And not a real (physical) one, but a VIRTUAL token. A token as ethereal and useless as the "action" they took in their game.