Epic Games’ Battle Royale keeps growing with new content and mechanics. Sometimes, though, the developers erase features you like with new updates. For example, you may be looking for an option to spectate that you used to see on the main menu.
The feature to spectate game matches debuted in Chapter 2. Currently, we’re on Chapter 3, Season 4, which debuted in September 2022. The component is missing in Fortnite’s current state. In other words, you won’t find any “Spectate” button on Fortnite’s dashboard, where we used to find it.
Is there another way to watch matches within the game? The answer is: yes, but not as before. The current methods are minimal and hidden but still fun to use.
How to Spectate in Fortnite ?
There’re three general ways to spectate games on Fortnite. All of these ways have their restrictions.
- You can watch your own game after you die.
- You can watch your replays.
- Watching the game of a friend.
I’m sorry to say it, but Fortnite Chapter 3 / Season 4 doesn’t offer alternative ways to spectate. However, let’s see how these three methods work.
Spectate Your Own Game
The primary way to spectate Fortnite matches within the game’s client is slightly silly. That’s because it only includes the games you play, and it works like this:
- Join a match.
- Die!
- Press the Spectate option.
By now, you’ll begin spectating the game, and you’ll be free to watch the gameplay of any remaining player in the match. For example, you’ll be able to see the stranger who eliminated you. Moreover, you can swap between the remaining players freely and stay in the match as a spectator until the very end.
Like so, you can watch and record until the end of the match. I’ve seen YouTubers and Twitch streamers making entertaining content from the random players they record while spectating.
And if you want, you could throw yourself off a cliff to go toward the option immediately. The option will allow you to cycle through the remaining players at your pleasure.
As long as they are alive, you can see their gameplay. And if they are good players, that can turn into particularly engaging content for social media and streaming platforms.
Watch Your Fortnite Replays
You can rewatch your gameplay for fun or try to improve your mistakes and imagine what you could have done better. Here’s how to access your replays:
- Go to your dashboard.
- Go to the “Careers” tab at the top of the screen.
- Click on “Replays.”
- Select one of your replays to watch it. The replays will have the date of the game on the list, which will help you determine the one you want to see.
You can stream the content to an online platform if you have recording software on your PC or console.
Spectate Your Friend’s Game
Lastly, you can Spectate a friend as he plays, just as long as you join your friend’s Lobby. That way, the game assumes your friend permits you to see his gameplay and even record it if you want to.
However, there’s no straightforward “Watch” or “Spectate” button. We need to perform a little trick to find it. Here’s how it works:
- Go to the game’s main menu.
- Go to Lobby (on the Play tab).
- Accept a Party Invite from a friend. The process didn’t work the other way around.
- Once your friend is in the Lobby, don’t press the Ready button. Instead, wait until your friend lands on the map.
- When your friend lands, hit the Ready button.
- Afterward, you’ll see a “Watch” button. Click it, and you’ll join the match as a spectator.
The method only allows players to spectate friends’ games. As you see, there’s no way of browsing through games or seeing unknown players in their matches. There’s a reason why spectating on Fortnite is so restrictive and why it doesn’t exist anymore.
Finally, here’re some limitations to this method:
- It would help if you waited at least 30 seconds in the Lobby until you could click the Watch button and spectate your friends.
- You can’t join the match as a spectator before your friends land.
- You won’t be able to spectate the match anymore after your friend dies.
- If two or more friends are in the Lobby, the method will probably not work.
Why Are Fortnite’s Spectate Options Limited?
Epic Games has not announced anything about the return of the “Spectate” option. They also didn’t quite mention why they decided to take it out. However, there’s fan speculation so that we can make an assumption. Players used to spectate and record the gameplay of good players for their social media while the actual player was streaming.
Another possible reason is because of the “Stream Sniping” phenomenon. This happens when players watch a “Spectate” stream to check the location of enemy players and take action against their opponents. Stream Sniping is used to give players an unjust upper hand. They could catch, trap, flank, and even troll their streaming opponents.
Now, Epic Games will re-introduce the feature in the following season. You can now enjoy the option to Spectate the match after being eliminated or see your friends’ games.
How Was the Spectate Option Before?
Fortnite’s Chapter 2 introduced the Spectate option, which was easy to find. You could simply spectate the game of any friend at your party. Currently, you can spectate a single friend, but only if you’re in your friend’s Lobby.
