Epic Games is pulling out the big guns for Fortnite Ballistic; hires ex-Call Of Duty talent as Lead Gameplay Animator 

Fortnite Ballistic debuted on December 11, 2024, and after what seemed like an eternity of rumors regarding a first-person mode being developed, Epic Games finally revealed its long-awaited project. Suffice it to say, it was received with a lot of enthusiasm from the community. However, it wasn't perfect.

While the project was functional and, to a great extent, extremely fun to play, it had its issues. Players reported match-making errors and certain Outfits made it difficult to aim-down sight due to it clipping through weapons, among other general bugs.

Given that it launched in early access, issues are to be expected. This is why it appears Epic Games is preparing for a major phase of development for Fortnite Ballistic. It recently hired a new Lead Gameplay Animator with plenty of experience in the first-person genre, namely Call Of Duty.

Here's more information regarding what we can expect to see in the near future.

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Epic Games has set its sights on building a solid future for Fortnite Ballistic

As mentioned, Epic Games has hired a new Lead Gameplay Animator, Mark DeRidder, for Fortnite Ballistic. The individual in question is a veteran who was part of the Call Of Duty franchise, having worked for over seven years at Infinity Ward and more than two at Raven Software. Here's a list of projects that he's worked on:

• Call Of Duty: Warzone
• Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Concord
• Call Of Duty: Ghosts

Given his forte with FPS video games, it is easy to understand why Epic Games chose him. With Fortnite Ballistic being in early access, there is plenty of ground to be covered and a lot of work to be done.

Perhaps Epic Games is slowly laying additional foundations for Fortnite Ballistic to create a fully fleshed-out mode in times to come. Much like other modes, such as LEGO, Festival, and of course, Battle Royale/Zero Build, the first-person mode could get its very own Battle Pass in the future.

With cosmetics being the lifeblood and source of revenue for Epic Games in Fortnite, adding another Battle Pass would make sense. Perhaps the cosmetics featured in it would be more suited to first-person mode and optimized from the get-go to ensure a better end-user experience. Given that in-game passes are now available via the Crew subscription, this makes a lot of sense

With a new Lead Gameplay Animator on board, we can expect more animations to be added soon. Perhaps custom animations for certain mechanics or movements could be implemented. It would be some time before any of this comes to pass and is verified either through leaks or an official statement, but it is the start of something new.

Having hit a peak of 168,970 players in December 2024, it's safe to say that with enough new content, the mode can be Fortnite's very own first-person shooter paradise. Although it's barely two months old at this point, there's a lot of potential and possibilities waiting to be explored.

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Read more Fortnite articles here:

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• Fortnite Ballistic vs CS2: 5 biggest differences between them
• Fortnite Ballistic vs Valorant: 5 biggest differences between the titles