Middle East gamers have always connected to multiplayer servers either in Europe or Asia. Seeing the great distance, high ping (hence more chances of packet loss) will always be an issue. Given the rising prominence of Fortnite, this would definitely cause issues with multiplayer.
First covered by IGN Middle East, users have rallied together using #FortniteMiddleEastServers on Twitter to vent out their frustration on this problem. A quick check on this hashtag has unearthed a surging volume of tweets, making it a trending topic across the Middle East.
In response to the volume of discussion around this topic, Epic Games has officially put out a response on the game’s official Twitter account. A glance at the thread of this response shows mixed reactions.
Since Fornite relies on cloud computing infrastructure to support its players worldwide, the upcoming Microsoft data centers in Qatar and UAE could potentially alleviate this issue. eSports has gained more awareness and interest across the region; this may easily spark discussion among developers to add local servers.
You can play Fortnite on PC/macOS, mobile (iOS and Android), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. More info is available on the official website.
Image Credit: IGDB
