Fortnite Ballistic is a round-based 5v5 tactical first-person shooter game mode for Fortnite, inspired by other tactical shooters like Counter-Strike and Valorant. It was released into early access on December 11, 2024.
| Fortnite Ballistic | |
|---|---|
 Key art | |
| Developer(s) | Epic Games |
| Publisher(s) | Epic Games |
| Series | Fortnite |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | December 11, 2024 (early access) |
| Genre(s) | Tactical shooter |
Gameplay
editBallistic is a tactical first-person shooter accessible via the Fortnite launcher.[1] In the mode, two teams of five players compete against each other across several rounds, with one team aiming to plant a "Rift Point Device" at a designated location on the map, and the other team attempting to stop them.[1] When a player is killed, they cannot respawn until the next round; the round can also be won based on which team is the last one standing.[2] In-between rounds, players are able to purchase weapons and other types of equipment to use against enemy players, such as pistols, shotguns, and grenades. Similar to other tactical shooters, the guns are more accurate when players are standing still.[2] The first team to win seven rounds wins the match.[3]
Release
editBallistic was first announced via a blog post on December 7, 2024,[4] before being released into early access on December 11.[5] It was made available on all platforms Fortnite itself was available on[1] and released with one map, "Skyline 10".[4] Alongside the modes early access release, Epic stated that the mode will receive updates over time to expand upon its content.[4] Upon the modes release, it immediately began facing server issues caused by an influx of players attempting to play it.[5]
Reception
editUpon Ballistic's initial early access release, Jake Tucker of PC Gamer was very critical of the mode in its initial state, calling it a "disappointment" that "doesn't work for a bunch of different reasons". He highlighted what he felt was a lack of content at launch, wishing for more variety in the weapon selection, while also criticizing the modes movement and what he felt was unrewarding gameplay. He further described the mode as a "featureless porridge of its influences, garnished with Fortnite theming."[2] Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen believed that Ballistic itself was unfinished and "rough around the edges", though felt that the mode was still enjoyable and demonstrated that Epic Games was capable of creating a good first-person shooter experience within Fortnite.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Fortnite's New FPS Mode Is Good, But A Bit Janky". Kotaku. 2024-12-11. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
- ^ a b c Tucker, Jake (2024-12-11). "Ballistic, Fortnite's new tactical FPS mode, is a deeply unserious Counter-Strike clone that's going to be huge anyway". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
- ^ Serin, Kaan (2024-12-07). "Fortnite Ballistic is the battle royale's first 5v5 FPS mode coming in just a few days, and it's aiming for a piece of Counter-Strike's pie". gamesradar. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
- ^ a b c Wood, Rhys (2024-12-09). "Fortnite's new first-person mode sounds an awful lot like Counter-Strike". TechRadar. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
- ^ a b "Fortnite's 5v5 First-Person Ballistic Mode Is Now Live". GameSpot. Retrieved 2024-12-11.