Fortnite has become a cop-free zone. At least it's free of their cars. Battle Royale eliminated vehicles in last week's Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 3 update, replacing them mostly with regular cars.

Epic did not call attention to or confirm the change when Kotaku reported it last week, but sources at the Wall Street Journal said their elimination was in response to George Floyd's death at the hands of police and the worldwide "Black Lives Matter " protests around the world.

Prior to this, Epic delayed the delivery of the new season, which arrived on June 17, suggesting the protests. The announcement stated, "We need to balance the launch of Season 3 with time for the team to focus on themselves, their families, and their community." Perhaps this brief postponement gave Epic time to remove the police cars.

The systemic racism and police brutality that sparked the protests must be confronted in the game as well. As American cities begin to question the role of the police, perhaps it is time to look at the complex relationship between gaming and law enforcement that is sometimes critical and often laudatory.

In "Fortnite," at least, the game is not affected when police cars are removed. In other words, they have no real function at all, except that they can be hidden or salvaged. Functional cars will be available, however, and we got a sneak peek at them in the launch trailer.

A Reddit thread mentioning the change received a mixture of indifference and hostility, with some criticizing Epic for making a "political" statement and others simply angry that their creative maps were affected.

It is not yet clear whether this is a temporary or permanent change, but it seems highly unlikely that police cars will soon be included in the functional vehicles.

Cheers, Eurogamer.