It's a huge weekend for Fortnite fans, as Epic Games gets ready to release Chapter 3, Season 4 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch and Android. According to Epic Games, the new Fortnite season - which is titled Paradise - has a September 18 release date on all platforms. Needless to say, an update this big is going to require extensive server downtime, which begins at 7am BST UK time. The season officially begins when downtime comes to an end at around 10am BST.
While extensive server downtime is never ideal, it does give fans enough time to download version 22.00, which will be much bigger than regular updates.
The news was announced by Epic Games on Twitter: "v22.00 releases on Sunday, September 18 with downtime beginning at 2 AM ET. We'll provide another update when maintenance has concluded.
"Please note patch sizes will be larger than normal for all platforms."
As part of update 22.00, Epic Games will introduce a brand new Battle Pass, complete with a selection of new skins, gliders, harvesting tools, emotes, contrails and much more.
Judging by the early teasers, Spider-Gwen from Into the SpiderVerse will be one of the headline new skins.
As you can see from tweets collated by Fortnite insider Hypex, Epic will release some kind of chrome skin, as well as a beastly skin.
Epic is certainly pushing the Chrome angle, telling fans in a recent teaser that "Chrome will consume all, Chrome will be all".
Previous rumours suggested the new season would have a Marvel theme, although this has since been debunked. There are even quiet murmurs that a Lord of the Rings crossover could be on the cards, so stay tuned for more information. Express Online will keep this story updated with all the latest developments concerning the new Fortnite season.
fortnite downtime countdown
Epic has yet to confirm this, but. Downtime for fortnite chapter 3 season 2 is expected to start around 3:00 am est (12:30 pm ist) and as always, matchmaking will be disabled for players 30 minutes prior to the same. Server downtime is over, release time,.Eagle-eyed Fortnite fans have also spotted new Season 4 content in the SypherPK Icon Series skin reveal.
Judging by the reveal footage, a new sniper rifle will be available in Season 4, alongside a new type of supply drop.
It's also worth noting that Season 4 launches ahead of the Fortnitemares Halloween event, not to mention the game's 5th anniversary celebration on September 26. New details will be deciphered once the update is available to download.
Likewise, the entire Battle Pass, new weapons and features will be fully revealed in the Season 4 trailer, which unlocks at 7am BST UK time.
You can watch it as soon as it goes live by clicking play on the YouTube embed below.
Elsewhere, the Fortnite Competitive experience will also undergo big changes for the new season.
In a blog post by Epic Games, the studio confirmed plans to introduce a brand new Fortnite Divisional Cup format, which begins with a Placement Cup, and ends with Elite competition.
Late Game playlists will also be updated, with Late Game Arena, Quick Cups, and Cash Cups returning later in Season 4 - once Epic has fixed several issues.
Fans of Fortnite's Zero Build mode will be pleased to hear that multiple Zero Build cups will be available each week, complete with cash prizes.
Finally, Epic explains plans to offer new console competitions: "Console competitors! For this coming Season, you’ll notice that most tournaments are open to all platforms.
"Later in Chapter 3 - Season 4, however, we will continue the Seasonal offering of the Console Champions Cup with a $250,000 prize pool. In partnership with PlayStation, we will also continue providing monthly Fortnite PlayStation Cups in September, October, and November."