Tyler1 played Fortnite on stream recently and learned how bots work in the battle royale. The streamer was in the middle of talking trash when his chat clued him into a shocking discovery about bots in Fortnite. Fortnite games can include anywhere from 20 to 75 bots depending on how many players of a similar skill level are queuing up at any given time, and Tyler1 had no idea about the mechanic.
When Fortnite was first released in 2017 there were no bots in matchmaking, which may be why not everyone seems to know about it. The addition of AI players to online games started in late 2019 and came about as a result of a push to more efficiently balance matchmaking based on skill level. The premise is meant to ensure all players have a fun experience by not getting matched up with players outside their skill level by grouping people of similar ability and filling the rest of the lobbies with bots to make up the difference. The end result is that players get more confidence because they'll be killing easier, but bots can also make it boring by being too easy.
Twitch user ironick09 shared the Twitch clip of the moment when League of Legends streamer Tyler1 reads his chat and realizes that the "players" he'd been beating so badly and talking trash to weren't people at all. The game in question went on for nearly a half hour, during which time Tyler1 was convinced that he was mopping the floor with real people. At first, he's in denial, but after a brief experiment where he stands completely still in front of an enemy and watches it slowly back away from him while missing about forty shots, there's no question. Tyler1's moment of disbelief is followed by him sitting back in his chair and looking up at the sky, knowing that he'd been acting big and seeming to accept that he now deserved the teasing that his chat was giving him before he asks if the enemies were ever real people.
Fortnite's use of bots is less prevalent as players become higher ranked, but they commonly make up a decent bulk of lobbies and the amount can vary depending on the time of day, as well. For instance, Fortnite servers will populate lobbies with more bots than usual during overnight hours and times when there are fewer players. Tyler1 doesn't play Fortnite that often, which may be why he was up against so many bots, as Fortnite's skill-based matchmaking will place newer and low-skilled players in lobbies where half or more of the players are AI.
Tyler1's competitive spirit and confidence made him the popular streamer he is today, and he has unwavering faith in his ability to play. After all, Tyler1 made it to challenger in League of Legends with all five roles. Bots definitely provide confidence for players, but perhaps too much in this instance.
Fortnite is available to play on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
