Fortnite's next big update will bring Preferred Item Slots for auto-sorting

On Friday, Epic revealed an upcoming feature through one of its less popular Twitter accounts: Preferred Item Slots. With this new feature, players will no longer have to manually change the location of items in their inventory by instead setting their preferences ahead of time and letting the game automatically sort the items when they're picked up.

Though players can currently set Fortnite to automatically sort any consumables they pick up to the right end of their inventory, weapons and other items are placed in whatever empty backpack slot is available. This will change — if the player wants — with the addition of Preferred Item Slots.

The new setting will be turned on by default for everyone once the next game update arrives. With this, the game will automatically sort different weapon types into specific slots. Epic reveals the order for this auto-sorting as assault rifles, shotguns, SMGs, non-firearm items, and consumables.

However, the company says players will be able to choose which weapons are placed in each slot in order to match their typical loadout. If you usually have the shotgun in the first slot, for example, Preferred Items Slots will automatically put any shotguns you pick up in the game in the first slot.

Though this is a relatively small change in the grand scheme of things, it's a big deal for players who have developed the muscle memory for items being in specific slots. Rather than having to pause to open your inventory and manually change item locations, the weapons you prefer will always be exactly where you expect them.