Epic Games is updating its zero-tolerance policy against cheaters in Fortnite, trying a more graduated approach with progressive punishments.

Beginning in April, cheaters will be given a one-year matchmaking ban on their first offense instead of a lifetime ban—unless they really screwed up.

Epic Games doesn't like cheaters. This has been a fact of life for a while now - those who cheat in Fortnite get Epic's lawyers real mad, and they've not been shy about going beyond what the law demands.

Epic Games confirms all Fortnite players who were previously banned will be given a "second chance" as the studio updates its ban policy.

“Cheating is never a winning strat,” the competitive Fortnite X account posted on February 17. “We took legal action against a player who shared their account to unfairly qualify for FNCS. Now they’re banned from Fortnite tournaments forever and their undeserved prize money was donated to charity.”

In Fortnite Chapter 6, cheaters will get a second chance. This includes those who received lifetime bans, although Epic will keep them on a tight leash. In addition, cheating bans will be much stricter.

Epic Games is introducing a “one-year matchmaking ban for first-time cheating offenses” in Fortnite, according to a blog post about its anti-cheat updates. However, “a second offense will result in a lifetime ban.

Fortnite is making big changes to its ban policies, and while it's giving some penalised players a second chance, it's not all good news for battle royale sinners — here's why