Developer Epic Games released a public statement to fans, stating that Fortnite's 'Ready Up' button is having an issue.
Epic's ever-popular multiplayer shooter is enjoying yet another bump in popularity, as it pulled the curtain back on its long-awaited Chapter 6, Season 1 content drop on December 1.
Fortnite's latest evolution, subtitled Hunters, will see the game head to Japan, featuring new anime-themed items and a never-before-seen Japanese aesthetic in the game. It will also include the long-awaited return of Fortnite's OG mode, which transports players back to a former version of the game's map to play on.
What Happened to 'Ready Up' In Fortnite?
Fortnite's 'Ready Up' button has been temporarily causing fans issues amid the release of the title's Chapter 6 Season 1 launch.
The function, which usually allows the player to 'ready up' (aka queue) for the next match without ever having to revisit the lobby screen from opening the game, has not been working since the launch of Fortnite's content release.
This means players are unable to automatically queue for their next game, but must return to the main menu to re-enter the game like normal.
The technical hiccup prompted a quick response from developer Epic Games, who posed to fans on X (formerly Twitter) that they are aware of the issue and are "working on [it]:"
"Hey! The 'Ready Up' button at the end of the match is temporarily disabled as our team is working on an issue."
According to another post on its social feeds, the studio went as far as to disable the button entirely, at least for the time being:
"We've disabled the Ready Up button at the end of a match while we investigate an issue, it will return in a future update. Please 'Return To Lobby' to ready up for a new game."
Epic also shared a Trello listing on its official channels, allowing users to see how progress is going on the matter. As of writing, the problem still persists, and, per the Trello task, is "In Development" with no timeline for when the functionality may be back online.
Why Did Fortnite Remove the 'Ready Up' Button?
Fans may be frustrated over the full-on removal of the 'Ready Up' button, but it seems as though it will only be temporary.
Epic Games has made it clear that once the problem with the button not working is cleared up, they will reinstate its functionality into the game, allowing it to once again appear on the post-match menu of options.
However, given that the issue seems to be affecting every Fortnite player (and not just some), it makes sense for the team to outright remove it until the issue is resolved.
As for why exactly the bug emerged remains to be seen. Some have speculated that it likely has to do with the launch of the game's recent Chapter 6 seasons drop.
Typically with these new content additions can come various bugs and technical hiccups that could not be 100% tested for internally. Sometimes things like these only emerge when whatever new content or seasonal addition is pushed to the masses.
The problem will likely be cleared up promptly, as Epic tries to keep Chapter 6's launch day as problem-free as possible, and keeping players in-game going from match to match seamlessly (or at least as seamlessly as possible) is a big part of that.
Fortnite is available now on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and mobile.
