Fortnite Players Push Back Against Steal The Brainrot’s Gambling-Style V-Bucks System

Fortnite dropped its much-awaited 39.20 update this past week, and it ended the ongoing Winterfest event in-game and brought along a brand new South Park crossover. While players were excited about the new content and gameplay that came along with it, such as the Stick of Truth item, a new free mini-pass, and quests, another major change crept into its UEFN mode.

Epic recently allowed UEFN creators to use in-game monetization to sell items within their maps in exchange for V-Bucks – yup, real money. The trend that had haunted Roblox in the past as it battled with games that scammed its player bases in exchange for Robux, has now entered Fortnite, and the game’s biggest UEFN map to date, Steal the Brainrot, was the first to implement it.

Since its loyal player base continues to enjoy the free offerings, the in-game items and structure after the latest UEFN update portrays a predatory monetary practice as players pushed back against its gambling system.

Fortnite’s Steal the Brainrot Adds Gambling-Style System After Latest UEFN Update, Sparks Player Outrage

Fortnite’s Steal the Brainrot map is a replica of the infamous Roblox title Steal a Brainrot. Both games have been highly successful on each of the UGC platforms, pulling in huge numbers. While some may argue that about Fortnite, the UEFN map alone has been responsible for half of the Battle Royale title’s player count each day, with the game reaching a new all-time peak of over 1 million concurrent players last night.

However, after the latest 39.20 UEFN update, Steal the Brainrot added V-Bucks to each of its shop items, as well as to its spin wheel, which many players on social media are referring to as a “slot machine.” The wheel grants 1 free spin to players every 4 hours. For each additional spin, you’ll need to spend 100 V-Bucks (around $0.99), and for 3 lucky spins, you’ll need to spend 200 V-Bucks (around $1.99).

This is because Epic informed creators that any purchases made in UEFN maps using V-Bucks will result in creators being paid a 100% share for those purchases. Which means if you spent $10 on an in-game item, the UEFN creator will get paid in full for that particular item, and Epic won’t get any cut.

But that’s not the real kicker – the game also features a limited-time shop which sells a brainrot for 2,700 V-Bucks ($18.99) and a 2x brainrot present for 4,900 V-Bucks ($35.99), and that’s an item that can be stolen any time from your base and is not a permanent item. This means if you choose to spend your real money and buy an in-game item in this map, it can be removed at the creator’s discretion and has no real usage in Battle Royale mode in Fortnite.

As soon as the community realised this, they blasted the game on social media, where one UEFN creator wrote, “Super disappointed in the Brain Rot guys… You make us all look bad with this kind of stuff.” Another player chimed in, “They better remove gambling and the ridiculous 4,900 V-Bucks purchase on a f**king creative map. Epic should cap them at 1,000 V-Bucks maximum.”

However, last night the map suddenly got delisted from Epic’s Discover row, and the experience went offline due to a bug, sparking panic across the player base. Players who bought items during that time were worried about getting scammed as they were skeptical about the map’s return. Soon, the map’s dev team issued an update that they were trying to get it back up, and players who spent their V-Bucks right before the map went down will be refunded in full.

Just under six hours later, the map was back online, and as we noticed, nothing had been changed inside the map, except the thumbnail. While Epic continues to list Steal the Brainrot in its top Discover row, players are hoping other UEFN maps won’t follow this trend, as the ecosystem’s future seems to be in a bit of turmoil.

What do you think of the latest UEFN update in Fortnite? Do you think Epic should cap the amount of V-Bucks in such maps? Let us know in the comments below!