Fortnite players have slammed Epic following their announcement of taking a “curated” approach on Jam Tracks.
Fortnite first introduced Festival mode in Chapter 5, Season 1, accompanying both Rocket Racing and LEGO as some of the biggest additions at that time.
Unlike the regular Battle Royale mode players are already familiar with, Festival features a different style gameplay, focusing on the rhythm genre. This is also when devs first added Jam Tracks that essentially function as playable songs to accompany the music-focused mode.
Though Festival has come a long way with its introduction of various artists and plenty of new tracks, Epic has just announced a new mode change that fans have taken an instant dislike of.
Epic announces new change to Jam Tracks’ rotation in Fortnite
In Festival, players can choose songs in the form of Jam Tracks before they get onto the stage. These songs can also be used as Lobby Music and Moments.
Normally, they are sold in the Item Shop or unlocked via the Battle Pass, with some of them getting added to the free featured rotation for everyone to play.
However, Epic has now confirmed that they’re taking a “more curated approach”, and the community is already convinced this will make it harder to buy songs, introducing FOMO yet again, as they’re reducing the number of tracks displayed in the Shop. Their full statement is as follows:
“Variety is the spice of life (and our set lists!). We’re taking a new, more curated approach to both our Main Stage Featured Rotation and Jam Tracks in the Shop.”
“We’ve recently expanded the Featured Rotation, and there are now forty (40!!) regularly updated Jam Tracks available to play every day on the Main Stage. Explore new genres & artists as we spotlight new Jam Tracks each week — you just might find your new favorite song.”
They also mentioned that as the team works to “improve the overall user experience” with Jam Tracks in the Item Shop, they’ve “reduced the number of available tracks in favor of a more curated approach.”
As such, the Shop will now display “a hand-picked list of jams, bangers, and bops, with new Jam Tracks dropping in every week.” Since it was posted on X, this announcement has drawn backlash from fans.
Following this statement, one user wrote: “Yeah, this is a horrible decision. Every jam track should be available in the Shop with a search bar. Having a ton of jam tracks for free on rotation is great, but nobody wants a small selection for purchase each day. That will kill Festival QUICK.”
A different user pointed out that Jam Tracks aren’t cosmetics, as they have real gameplay value. “What’s so hard about having every song available to buy and a search bar to find the one you want quickly?”
Meanwhile, one user claimed this change is “horrible and meaningless,” slamming the decision as “disgraceful” considering Epic has previously said they’re getting rid of “FOMO in the Battle Pass.”
“No rhythm game with purchasable songs should have FOMO. EVER,” they added.
