Epic Games banned "thousands" of Fortnite players over the last weekend as players say new proximity chat mode Delulu "was a mistake"

In a move I suspect everyone saw coming, Epic Games has confirmed that "thousands" of Fortnite players have been hit with bans since the public introduction of the battle royale's limited-time proximity chat mode, Delulu.

Fortnite Delulu – called that for reasons beyond my understanding – was initially only available for players with creator codes (so, y'know, streamers and content creators), and the videos coming out of it looked like a jolly 'ol time. The mode, which allows you to team up with other strangers (and betray them to grasp victory for yourself), appeared to have it all, from players roleplaying as Solid Snake, to opening their own peaceful in-game stores and offering fellow players weapons and heals. But when the general public was given access… well, you already know where this is going.

"Hope you're enjoying Delulu!" Epic Games posted to Twitter on Friday, the very moment that the mode went public. "If you're hearing anything that violates our rules, report it in-game using 'Report Conversation' in the sidebar. Moderation is on it! We're moving faster and stricter to catch troublemakers."

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The rules are fairly extensive, but in essence, they boil down to stopping players from "using voice chat to bully, harass, discriminate, or engage in other inappropriate behavior." Skip forward to Sunday, and yup, the moderation team has certainly been busy. In a new post reminding fans how to report rule-breakers in voice chat, Epic adds: "Thousands banned already this weekend."

Looking at social media, you can understand why. "Tried to get the umbrella for Delulu in Fortnite and the only thing I got was sexist comments and slurs," one player writes.

"It was so fun when us creators had early access and it certainly wasn't really toxic. But playing the next day when everyone could play was mostly terrible for hearing slurs etc. being a female player," another says.

"The Delulu game mode on Fortnite was a mistake like I don't know what they expected to happen but I expected exactly what I got (misogynistic men, screaming children, a ridiculous amount of people who think saying slurs is funny)," adds another Twitter user.

Of course, it's not an across-the-board issue. It was with trepidation that I embarked on the mode yesterday, and thankfully, I only encountered pleasant players myself. With that said, even with the "thousands" of bans it's already enforced, it definitely sounds like Epic Games has more work to do if it wants to keep the mode a safe place.

For now, Delulu is only scheduled to run for one more weekend, between September 26 at 6am PT /9am ET/ 2pm BST until September 29 at the same time.

While you're here, be sure to check out our guide to Fortnite quests in Chapter 6 Season 4.