Chewbacca holding the Wookie Blaster in Fortnite, with the Battle Bus flying above him.
Image via Epic Games

Fortnite’s Star Wars update is broken as players ‘do not have permission to play’

Players are being locked out.

The excitement around Fortnite‘s Star Wars event has hit high gear, but players jumping into the game to get involved are finding themselves locked out after being hit with “Matchmaking Error #1: You do not have permission to play.”

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Players who try to get into matches are being told that it “Looks like all the Battle Buses headed out are full. Give it another shot in a few minutes.” Unfortunately, even if you leave it for a bit, trying again will see you hit with the same error.

A LEGO Fortnite character using a Lightsaber on a Stormtrooper
I just want to swing a Lightsaber at a LEGO Stormtrooper! Image via Epic Games

What’s causing Fortnite‘s “You do not have permission to play” error?

This frustrating bug seems to be coming from Epic’s side, so there doesn’t seem to be much that can be done at this point. It appears that the game is having issues with its servers, which are either overcrowded or simply not allowing anyone into matches.

Is there anything I can do to fix the error?

It seems unlikely that there’s anything we can do on our end to solve this, but if you want to try some things, there are a few options:

  • Restart the game: Always the first thing you should try, but some players on X have reported that this is helping.
  • Restart your internet: This seems to be on Epic’s side, but if you’re desperate you could try to reset your internet on the off-chance it’s actually a problem on your end.

Other than those, the sad answer is you’ll just have to wait for Epic to get them back online.

Has Epic responded to this Fortnite error?

No, unfortunately, Epic have yet to address the issue, with nothing posted on their Fortnite Status account on X. We’ll be sure to update this article if we hear from the developer.


If you’ve managed to make it into Fortnite, learn how to get the new Chewbacca skin, or read about the LEGO Fortnite Star Wars Quests.


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Author
Matt Porter
Matt has been writing about Call of Duty for almost 10 years, with bylines at Gfinity, Dexerto, and a spell as CharlieIntel's editor. Matt is experienced in all things CoD, including multiplayer, Warzone, and esports.