Fortnite’s Infinity Blade is overpowered, Epic says—so it’s been removed

Fortnite: Battle Royale developer Epic Games has stuffed the Infinity Blade back into the vault.

Epic confirmed the sword’s removal on Twitter this afternoon. “We messed up and rolled out the Infinity Blade overpowered / without good counters, especially in the end game,” Epic wrote on Twitter. “The Infinity Blade has been Vaulted and we are re-evaluating our approach to Mythic items. Thanks for calling us out on this.”

It’s safe to say that Fortnite players are pleased to see the blade’s removal. The game’s been pure chaos since it was added this week—some believe the game was entirely unplayable with the sword enabled. The blade even impacted Fortnite’s top-tier players during the Winter Royale North America finals, where three of the top five players won using the blade.

Related: Epic Games allegedly threatened legal action against a Fortnite leaker

Epic announced on Reddit last night that the Mythic Infinity Blade would be nerfed in an upcoming patch—but the team decided this afternoon to just remove it from the game. It’s unclear if Epic will eventually put the Infinity Blade back in Fortnite. The blade’s high damage, building destruction capabilities, passive health, and shield regeneration made the weapon widely overpowered, and fans have been complaining about its inclusion in the game since it was released.

Mythic items are a step above Legendary items—and that, of course, means they’ll be powerful. Epic said that Mythic items are supposed to give players “new and flavorful ways to interact with the map” and to disrupt normal styles of play. The developer said it will release “more info” on its competitive philosophy with regard to Mythic items “soon.”