Only a game as big as Fortnite could intentionally shut down as a hugely popular marketing gimmick.
Nearing the end of the 10th season of Fortnite on Sunday, all players were sucked into a literal black hole. No one can play Fortnite right now, whether in Battle Royale, Save the World, or Creative. Nothing currently exists in the game save for an ominously swirling black hole.
The black hole remains as a live feed on all of Fortnite’s social media channels and streaming services. The bold shutdown has attracted legions of viewers – millions, in fact, across Twitch, YouTube, and other streaming sites. Everyone wants to be the first to see what new content will spring up for Season 11.
Although Epic Games’ last official social media post was “This is the End” (now deleted), we’re going to confidently declare that this is not the end of Fortnite, but a very effective reboot for the next season.
So when is Fortnite coming back? Epic Games has been completely silent. History will tell us that Tuesday morning is the usual start time for new seasons to begin, which would result in about 36 hours of shutdown, an eternity for hardcore, or even casual Fortnite players.
Rumors are swirling about an entirely new map, which would be the biggest change to Fortnite since it added the Battle Royale mode. In past seasons sections of the map have been swapped out, along with new weapons and features, but the core makeup of the island has remained the same since launch.
For now we’ll have to wait and see what’s in store. Intrepid fans have discovered that if you input the classic Konami code while staring at the black hole in game, you can play a Galaga-style mini-game.
Fortnite is rated T for Teen, and available on PC (Epic Games Store), PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
