Fortnite’s “Too many outgoing friend requests” message may appear even when an account has only one pending request. One player traced the problem to a request sent through the Epic Games Launcher to an account that was no longer reachable, then restored friend requests by removing it.
Decade-Old Account-Breaking Bug Strikes Again (too many outgoing friend request error)
byu/TommyTheArtist inFortniteBR
The finding came from a single player’s repeated test and has not been independently confirmed by Epic Games. It should be treated as a possible workaround rather than proof of a widespread Fortnite issue.
How the friend-request error happened
The sequence began when the player accidentally sent a friend request to someone through the Epic Games Launcher. After opening Fortnite, they could no longer send requests to anyone else.
Looking up the recipient in the Launcher revealed an Epic profile marked as unavailable. The account did not appear in Fortnite’s search, although it remained visible through the Launcher. The player believed the recipient had blocked them, based on a previous friendship, an earlier unfriend, and an existing private chat in the Launcher.
That combination may have left the request stuck between the Launcher and Fortnite. The player’s theory is that a request sent to an account that should not be reachable can trigger the error even when there is only one pending request.
Possible workaround
The player found a way to remove the request from the Epic Games Launcher, provided the recipient’s account name was still known. After unsending it, friend requests worked again. The player then sent requests to the same people they had tried earlier and confirmed that the feature was working.
- Identify any request recently sent through the Epic Games Launcher.
- Use the recipient’s Epic account name to find that account in the Launcher.
- Unsend the request from the Launcher.
- Return to Fortnite and test the friend-request feature again.
The same process was repeated from the beginning and produced the same result for the player. Still, the workaround depends on remembering the account name, and the report did not include an alternate recovery method for players who cannot identify the recipient.
Until Epic Games confirms what causes the error, the player recommended sending friend requests from inside Fortnite instead of the Launcher. It is a nasty little trap, especially when one forgotten account name may be the only clue to the stuck request.
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Fortnite
Developed by Epic Games
Fortnite is a free-to-play online game where you and your friends fight to be the last one standing in Battle Royale, join forces to make your own Creative games, or catch a live show at Party Royale.
- Genre Shooter, Simulator
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Perspective Third person
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Split screen, Battle Royale
- Release June 29, 2020
- Publisher Epic Games
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Age Rating
