Fortnite is down with players being told they don’t ‘have permission to play’

By Otto Kratky December 29, 2021

As kids and adults alike enjoy their holiday breaks, one thing they won’t be doing, for now, is playing Fortnite. The massively popular battle royale title has gone offline.

While Epic games has previously closed the game’s servers to update it, like with its recent Chapter 3 update, the sudden issues preventing players from logging in are not part of the developer’s plan.

Fortnite is currently unavailable and players are unable to log-in while we investigate an issue.

We'll provide more info when we have a solution to bring services back online. pic.twitter.com/B3wXvu5SL6

— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) December 29, 2021

According to a post on Twitter, Epic games began investigating issues with players not being able to log into Fortnite or get into a match around 8 a.m. PT. However, just an hour ago the official Fortnite Status account followed up, saying that the game “is currently unavailable and players are unable to log-in while we investigate an issue.” It seems that for now, the game is totally offline, with any other details on why the game is down being kept internal.

However, not all users are having the same experience when they try to log in to Fortnite. Some are getting a strange screen that tells them, much like a mom who catches a kid playing a game at 1 a.m., that they “do not have permission to play Fortnite.” It’s not clear when players will once again have permission to play the game and be able to freely log in.

Fortnite‘s downtime comes during one of the first moments that just about anyone can play the game’s latest update, Fortnite Chapter 3. The update radically changed the game when it arrived earlier this December, changing the game’s map and adding new gameplay mechanics, like the ability to aim down sights or swing around like Spider-Man.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…

Gaming

League of Legends isn’t as big of a dating don’t as you may think

Two League of Legends characters stare at each other with a heart between them.

"If he plays League, run,” they told me. I didn’t listen.

Meme culture claims that League of Legends is gaming’s biggest "dating don’t." Just mentioning that your significant other plays Riot Games' flagship MOBA can be enough to elicit gagging noises or a pained “why” from your internet-savvy friends. Do a quick Reddit search and you'll find threads berating League players for their lack of accountability and 3D dating choices. But are League or any of its spinoffs actually the problem?

Gaming

Where to find Vendetta Flopper in Lego Fortnite

Characters fishing in LEGO Fortnite.

The fishing update to Lego Fortnite added, you guessed it, the ability to fish once you've made yourself a rod. Of course, since fish didn't exist in the game before this, an entire school of undersea life needed to be created. Every fish you can catch has a different benefit, from restoring a bunch of health when you eat it to giving you some kind of buff. The rarest and most useful fish is certainly the Vendetta Flopper, making it the most coveted catch in the game. While fishing is still heavily dependent on luck, you won't even have a chance at this fish unless you know where to cast your line.
Where to find the Vendetta Flopper

Before you even attempt to attempt this legendary catch, make sure you're ready with an Epic fishing rod and Epic Bait Bucket to give yourself the best chance at a rare catch. The nest step is to only cast into the glowing purple zones that indicate the presence of rare fish. Fishing in any other part of the water won't yield the Vendetta Flopper we're after.

Gaming

Fortnite is getting a Disney universe made by Epic Games

Concept art for Disney's Fortnite experience.

Epic Games is partnering with Disney to create “an all-new games and entertainment universe” that’s compatible with Fortnite.

Announced Wednesday afternoon — at the same time as it was announced that ESPN would be available as a standalone subscription in 2025 — this partnership follows a $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games by Disney. They companies now plan to work together over several years to create this experience connected to Fortnite, which Disney says will “offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.”