The Bear Hug emote has been removed from Fortnite temporarily, following the discovery of an odd glitch that can only be described as NSFW. There’s never a shortage of much-requested emotes for Fornite; for a while, a bear hug counted among the most popular of said requests.
Epic Games recently unleashed the two-person emote, allowing players to embrace one another in a digital show of affection. Not all went according to plan, however. Yesterday, August 5, Twitter user That Jackalope Liv came across a strange bug while playing Fortnite. The player shared a 16-second clip that starts with the usual Fornite fare; things escalate a few seconds in, though, as two players in the distance approach one another to share a hug. What happens next is no ordinary bear hug. Instead, one of the characters, a female, crouches down at the last moment, grabbing hold of the other character, a male, by the midsection. Needless to say, this particular show of affection took things a bit too far.
Hours after That Jackalope Liv video made the rounds on Twitter, the Fortnite Status account announced the Bear Hug emote has been “temporarily disabled and removed” from the in-game Item Shop. A subsequent tweet from the developer said the team is currently working on a bug fix related to the emote, then noted that those who previously purchased Bear Hug will be eligible for a “tokenless refund” next week. As of writing, Epic Games hasn’t revealed when the Bear Hug emote may return.
That Epic Games is eager to address the issue should come as no surprise. After all, Fortnite counts as one of the most popular online titles played by younger audiences. Such an NSFW error could not have been able to stick around for very long.
Fortnite players have plenty to look forward to in the weeks ahead. The game’s Chapter 2 Season 7 content will come to an end next month on September 12, leading to the belief that Chapter 2 Season 8 will kick off shortly thereafter on September 13. Epic Games remains mum on the matter, though leaked details claim content revolving around the likes of Naruto is on the horizon.
Fortnite is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Android platforms.