How To Spectate in Fortnite [Friends and Strangers]

If you’ve only recently returned to Fortnite, you may notice that Epic Games made a few tweaks; One of them being that there is no obvious way to spectate another person’s game.

The good news is the feature is not entirely gone.

Here’s how to spectate in Fortnite in the latest seasons.

How To Spectate in Fortnite

Fortnite, one of the most popular live service games in the world, has come a long way. 

This included a couple of significant changes.

Up until the first season of Chapter 3, Fortnite allowed players to spectate their friends' and strangers’ games via the Watch Game option. This essentially allowed players to watch the game unfold from a player’s perspective in the game, without having to join it.

When the new season was introduced, the Watch Game feature was noticeably missing.

How To Spectate in Fornite Chapter 3: Seasons 1-4

Spectating in Fortnite is still possible but you’ll have to jump through some extra hoops to join a game as a spectator.

In the previous chapters, players could select anyone on their friend list and click the Watch Game button. Now, they’ll have to be invited to their friend’s party to access the feature.

Here’s how to do that:

1. Launch the game. 
2. Enter the lobby and wait for your friend to get into a game.
3. At this point, they’ll have to send you a party request. 
4. Accept the party request and wait for about 30 seconds from the start of the match. The players will have to drop to the ground before they can join the game as a spectator.
5. Click the Ready button. 
6. Click Unready and the button should change to Watch.
7. Click Watch to join the server.
8. When the game loads, you’ll join the game in Spectator mode. Keep in mind that it can take a while for the game to load. This can happen when a server gets overwhelmed with requests or when your Internet connection is unstable.

How To Spectate Strangers in Fortnite Chapter 3

Although other games of its caliber have a spectate option, Fortnite doesn’t allow its 350 million registered users worldwide to watch strangers’ games from their perspective.

In other words, there is no way to spectate someone who isn't in your friends list. Strangers who aren't on your friends list cannot spectate you in the game as well, unless you start streaming your gameplay on Twitch or other streaming platforms.

In Fortnite, you can spectate while sitting out, meaning you can only watch other players if you end up playing against them and get eliminated by them.

If you want to watch some of the more popular Fornite gamers play the game, you should be able to find their broadcast and/or stream on platforms like Twitch, Youtube, Facebook Gaming, or other streaming services.

Why Was Fortnite’s Spectate Feature Removed?

Epic hasn’t officially issued a statement on why they limited the spectating feature in the game. 

The most likely reason why the Fortnite spectate feature is not working as before is stream sniping.

For those not familiar with the term, stream sniping is the act of exploiting another person’s stream to your advantage. Watching your opponent’s playing the game in real time lets you know exactly where they are and how they’re doing in the game, which can help you take them out. 

That’s why most games of this caliber have a broadcast delay feature to mitigate stream sniping. In DOTA 2, for example, the delay can be up to a couple of minutes.

Bottom Line

Although Epic Games significantly limited the spectating feature in the game, players can still watch their friends battling out on the map. If you want to spectate a game, you’ll have to be invited into a party and wait for the game to start.