Fortnite OG Ranked Removed in Season 4

If you want to play against opponents of your own skill level, Ranked modes are key, and since Fortnite has splintered into so many different games so has its Ranked. Fortnite OG Ranked is available in-game, essentially it is to Battle Royale what Ranked is to Battle Royale. However, Fortnite leakers have said this mode might be on the way out and now it has been confirmed. It seems like Epic is once again parring back their competitive offerings.

Fortnite Ranked is at a bit of a low right now. In the end of the Star Wars season, we’ve seen players numbers plummet. Along with the best players like Peterbot saying on stream that it’s not a good place to practise. It’s a waste of time, at least for Battle Royale modes.

Outside of problems with Ranked, the splintering of the player base is becoming a bigger problem for matchmaking times, which it seems might mean that Fortnite OG Ranked is the next mode to get removed. Why is it on the way out?

Fortnite OG Ranked – Why’s it on the Chopping Block?

After it was leaked briefly, we’ve now gotten confirmation that Fortnite OG Season 4 will bring in one big change for the game mode. It’ll see Fortnite OG Ranked removed.
Since OG came back as a permanent mode it has had a few changes. It was always offered as both Build and Zero Build, as most of Fortnite is right now, even if Chapter 1 wasn’t. However, it also got a Ranked mode at launch.

In recent Chapters, Epic has more and more made Ranked modes where there might not be a purpose. They’ve even offered for LTMs… for some reason. What’s more, the Build Zero Build split means Fortnite Ranked doubles the playlists. Not only do we get OG Ranked, but we get OG Zero build Ranked as well. Turning what should be a single mode with a single queue and bigger player pool, into four much smaller player pools.

Inevitably, moves like this have a knock one effect for the player count. We’ve already seen Zero Build OG Ranked removed after its player numbers meant games with real players became a long drawn-out affair. Bots are currently a sticking plaster on the matchmaking problems, but one that increasingly annoys the player base. By consolidating the modes down, this problem would be solved.

Although, faster OG queue times and better matchmaking would be coming with the loss of a serious OG game mode.

Will Anyone Miss It?

Now the leaks have been confirmed and we know Fortnite OG Ranked will be removed in Season 4, what’s the big loss?

On the whole, Fortntie Ranked isn’t like the older Arena. It doesn’t offer the different tournament loot pool. It doesn’t even offer a bot free experience at all times. Although, it’s definitely a notch above pubs in skilled based matchmaking and percentage of human players. That’s the real appeal of Ranked for these other modes.

Few players likely have the time to grind to Unreal on every single Ranked mode. However, Fortnite OG Ranked was a playlist where you could be a bit more certain you’d face more real players over bots and players close to your skill level. It’ll be a shame if Fortnite OG Ranked is removed and high bot counts are still the standard in normal OG. But it’s hitting against a problem that’s unavoidable with Fortnite’s current direction.

The Problem with Ranked, Zero Build, and More Customization

Fortnite is trying to be a platform, not a game. It wants to be the launcher where the Creative Discovery suggests a ton of different games, not just a Battle Royale. To some extent this has gone well, with other modes carving out their own niches. As alternative Battle Royales are offered though, it often seems like it is the same number of players being split up into increasingly small niches.

Where before we had standard Battle Royale with a huge player count being put in matches based on their skill level, we now have a feast of various royales, mini royales, throwback, royales, and each of them offered in both Build and Zero Build. Then Ranked Build, Pubs Builds, Ranked Zero Build, and so on. With Fortnite OG Ranked, Battle Royale ranked, and Reload, that’s even more modes.

Using a Ranked label for each game and mode means the player base is split even further.
There’s an appeal to Ranked. But not every mode needs it. LTMs certainly don’t. OG? It’s not the worst idea, but it doesn’t seem like there’s the player base to support dividing OG into so many different slices. Fortnite OG Ranked being removed could improve the experience in the mode if it helps to make lobbies populated by real players again. That could remove half the reason to bother with Ranked for a lot of the player base anyway.