Epic Games has released a statement where they will be disallowing the use of stretched resolutions in competitive Fortnite. This move is made with the upcoming qualifiers for the Fortnite World Cup in mind.
The rule change is being made to combat the phenomenon of competitive Fortnite players altering their FOV settings by using a stretched 21:9 resolution on a 16:9 screen. This results in these players being able to see more than normally possible on a regular 16:9 monitor.
This method itself isn’t unique to Fortnite: Players in other competitive first-person shooters such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have been using this trick for years. When it was discovered that it worked in Fornite, many competitive players immediately adopted it.
In response to this, Epic will be changing the way the game handles resolutions and FOV settings. The horizontal FOV will be unlocked in all modes. However, in competitive playlists such as Arena and in-game tournaments, the developers will be locking the game’s aspect ratio to 16:9. Additionally, vertical FOV will be locked when using a custom resolution.
With how rampant the use of stretched resolutions was, it was only natural that Epic Games would eventually stamp it down. However, the question remains of why it took them so long to do so.
With qualifiers for the Fortnite World Cup starting on April 13, many competitive players will now have to adjust the lack of a stretched screen. There’s little doubt that many players would have preferred to see Epic make the change months ago, which would allow them more time to get used to the game as it is normally intended.
That said, it is part of a competitive player’s job to adjust to any changes made in the game, regardless of whether or not those changes were made in their favor. With the change, its possible then that the competitive player base will be shaken up as player struggle to adapt, and those less reliant on the stretched screens find themselves at an advantage.
