According to Polygon, Fortnite players are convinced The Simpsons season is overrun with cheaters, with social media platforms like TikTok and Reddit flooded with complaints about suspicious gameplay. Epic Games spokesperson directly contradicted these claims, stating “over the past few months there has not been an uptick” in cheating and that internal data actually shows cheating has decreased during The Simpsons event compared to previous seasons. The event has drawn massive numbers, reaching a high of 2.6 million concurrent players – Fortnite’s highest in nearly a year. Epic also confirmed they unbanned a wave of cheaters back in April 2025 under new enforcement guidelines that give first-time offenders a one-year ban instead of permanent removal. The company continues to develop new anti-cheat methods and investigates social media cheating accusations while maintaining that player perceptions don’t match reality.
Why everyone thinks there’s cheating
Here’s the thing – when you get one-shotted by Marge Simpson across the map, it feels personal. But there are actually several reasonable explanations for why The Simpsons season feels so sweaty. The Springfield map is smaller than usual, with only 80 players instead of 100, meaning you’re constantly running into people. And with 2.6 million concurrent players, you’ve got returning casuals going up against PC veterans thanks to crossplay. Basically, it’s a perfect storm that makes every encounter feel like you’re facing a hacker.
The real cheating situation
Now, let’s be clear – cheating absolutely happens in Fortnite. You can find TikTok videos of people blatantly using cheats, and Reddit threads debating the issue daily. But Epic’s data suggests most of the clips people are sharing are either older footage where the cheater was already banned, or legitimate gameplay that just feels unfair. There was even a recent glitch with The Simpsons couch that made players immortal until Epic patched it. So while cheaters exist, they’re probably not the reason you’re dying so quickly.
Epic’s anti-cheat strategy
Epic has taken a pretty aggressive stance against cheaters lately – they’ve made examples of people by forcing public apologies, filing lawsuits, and even updating their enforcement guidelines in February 2025. The whole FaZe Jarvis situation – where a 17-year-old got banned for six years over an aimbot video – shows they don’t mess around. But their newer approach of one-year bans for first offenses seems to be working. Data shows most unbanned players don’t reoffend, and Epic’s social media regularly updates on their anti-cheat efforts.
The psychology of getting owned
So why does it feel like everyone’s cheating? Part of it’s just human nature – when you get destroyed by someone, it’s easier to blame hacks than admit they’re better. The new weapons like Moe’s Five Gun and Krusty’s Blaster have weird balancing issues that make deaths feel unfair. And let’s be honest – when you’re a casual player just trying to check out The Simpsons content, getting wiped by someone with 5000 hours feels like cheating even when it’s not. The reality is probably simpler: Fortnite’s just really competitive right now, and sometimes you’re the one who gets unlucky.
