# Fortnite Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/fortnite/ 11 people recommended Fortnite in Hacker News comments, 22 had mixed feelings and 53 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 12 months, in 10 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended: critics say skins pressure kids to spend; those who recommend it see it as a fun, free-to-play shooter with fair, transparent monetization and a well-designed battle pass. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Concern about kids' screen time (4 comments in the sample): "I try to explain to my young teenage son what he misses by playing a near-perpetual game like Fortnite." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48017303)) "There should not be a separate parental control dashboard for roblox, fortnite, instagram, tiktok" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49812363)) "If I could travel back in time and prevent my kids and nephews from ever learning about Fortnite" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45904676)) - Pressure on kids to buy skins (3 comments in the sample): "Yes, they have issues with FOMO, and bullying for not buying skins" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46372247)) "Poor kids that have been sold into this versus the games we had that didn’t outright exploit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47513063)) "Kids with the default Fortnite skin are bullied, excluded. The social pressure is huge." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46618843)) - Anti-cheat blocks Linux play (2 comments in the sample): "Notable for me is Fortnite - though I hear that now…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48721609)) "plenty of multiplayer games with invasive client side anti cheats such as Fortnite or Genjin Impact do not run" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46634585)) - Messy codebase and tech debt (2 comments in the sample): "Millions spent trying to wrangle Fortnite's spaghetti codebase as it crumbles under more than a decade of tech debt" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47505061)) "Battlefield and Fortnite are trash because of the multiplayer component that leads to gameplay that's low quality" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45867534)) ## Why people recommend it - Fair, transparent monetization, no gambling (5 comments in the sample): "V bucks aren't shoved down your throat, the battle passes are pretty transparent about what you get" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46618662)) "Fortnite avoids this by having no gambling and by making hvh infeasible" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50111655)) "Fortnite's Battle Pass is very well designed, quality content" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47508751)) - Fun, solid gameplay (2 comments in the sample): "Fortnite's initial success was based on solid gameplay before the monetization kicked in" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46503332)) "i like a few multiplayer shooters, fortnite being one of them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46803288)) - Popular with kids and families (2 comments in the sample): "almost every kid of her age is stuck in Roblox and some in Fortnite" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47333839)) "the child will be playing fortnite/minecraft" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47245817)) - Free to play with generous free rewards (1 comment in the sample): "I earn enough v-bucks from playing the game to never have to pay." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46618883)) ## Other multiplayer shooters people recommend - [Arc Raiders](https://hackerapproved.com/p/arc-raiders/): 44 recommend, 7 mixed, 10 criticize - [Counter-Strike](https://hackerapproved.com/p/counter-strike/): 19 recommend, 10 mixed, 17 criticize - [Counter-Strike 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/counter-strike-2/): 18 recommend, 8 mixed, 17 criticize - [Marathon by Bungie](https://hackerapproved.com/p/marathon/): 13 recommend, 2 mixed, 13 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Fortnite", https://hackerapproved.com/p/fortnite/ (11 recommend, 22 mixed, 53 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.