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Fortnite Chapter 5’s New Movement: Why Players Called It “Janky”

Fortnite’s Chapter 5 movement overhaul drew complaints about sluggish speed and new animations. Here’s what changed and how Epic responded.
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Fortnite’s Chapter 5 movement felt different because Epic changed both how characters moved and how that movement looked on screen. Players quoted in coverage called the new animations slow or sluggish, while Epic said the changes were meant to improve visuals and encourage more strategic decisions. Epic revised the tuning on December 18, 2023, so the initial complaints describe the launch version—not an unchanged system.

What changed in Chapter 5 movement?

Chapter 5 Season 1 introduced new movement animations and changed speeds by action and direction. In its December 4, 2023 report, GameSpot quoted Epic as saying run and sprint speeds were slightly slower, while sideways and backward movement became faster. The changes were not simply a uniform slowdown.

Epic framed the overhaul as a visual improvement and a way to encourage more strategic decisions. The official Fortnite account also acknowledged that its playtesters took a few days to get used to it, and said the team was listening to feedback.

Why did players call it “janky”?

Contemporary reports captured complaints about the new animations and a sense that movement felt slow or sluggish. Some players wanted the earlier movement system back. PC Gamer’s December 3, 2023 coverage described players objecting to the new running animations; that is evidence of a visible reaction, not a measure of how many players agreed.

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The criticism concerned both feel and presentation. A change in speed can affect how quickly a character covers ground, while new animations and camera behavior can make the same input look or feel different. The available coverage does not establish that every player experienced the changes the same way.

What did Epic change after the backlash?

On December 18, 2023, Epic announced adjustments to speed, camera behavior, and animation. Its official update said: “Movement speed has been increased when crouching, and running. We also reduced camera movement and adjusted the change in view while sprinting to encourage a smoother experience. Plus, we updated the movement animations to better match the adjustments in speed.”

Epic also reset players’ “Custom Diagonal Movement” settings and asked them to configure them again. Anyone comparing how Fortnite felt before and after the adjustment should account for that settings reset as well as the movement changes.

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Did Creative and Battle Royale use the same movement?

Not necessarily. Epic’s v28.00 ecosystem notes, dated December 3, 2023, said Creative and UEFN islands would use the new movement visuals while retaining movement speed from before v28.00. The notes also said launching up player-built walls with ledges was unavailable in that update, and that Epic was working on creator opt-in options. Those statements describe that dated release, not every Creative island or its current behavior.

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Epic’s Creative player settings documentation, accessed October 8, 2026, lists “Ch 4 Movement” and “Ch 5 Movement” under “Movement Speed Tunings” and describes Chapter 5 as having changed some Battle Royale movement speed tunings. That confirms the documented Creative setting and historical change; it does not identify the tuning currently live in Battle Royale.

What the “janky movement” story means now

The phrase describes a player reaction to Chapter 5 Season 1’s launch-era feel, not an objective finding about every version or mode of Fortnite. The initial mix of slower running and sprinting, faster sideways and backward movement, new animations, and altered camera behavior prompted complaints; Epic then adjusted several of those elements on December 18, 2023. The cited coverage does not quantify the backlash, and the available current Creative documentation is not enough to determine Battle Royale’s live movement tuning.

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