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Fortnite's new island appears to be part of a multiverse in Chapter 3, Season 1.
The new season of the battle royale game dropped Sunday (Dec. 5) at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) with a plethora of new items. For space fans, the content includes a crescent moon-themed Ronin set and a loading screen showing the Fortnite island floating in a multiverse-like bubble.
Players like us who bought the season battle pass (950 V-bucks, roughly $7.99 USD) struggled to log into Fortnite in the first hours after release due to increased server loads, which makes it difficult to say what the island contains after it completely flipped over during an alien-themed event closing Chapter 2, Season 8 on Saturday (Dec. 4).
"We're aware that log-ins, purchases, partying up, and matchmaking may be delayed. We'll provide an update when this has returned to normal," Fortnite's game status account on Twitter (opens in new tab) said Saturday of the reported delays.
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The finale event included an appearance from The Foundation (Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock) along with other members of the mysterious Seven, a group of beings trying to save reality by stabilizing the Zero Point (opens in new tab) that keeps the Fortnite omniverse going.
The unstability of the Zero Point has done a lot of things to the Fortnite island in recent months, including kicking back players to prehistoric times in Chapter 2, Season 6, and releasing a bunch of energy to the island in Chapter 2, Season 7 after an alien mothership destroyed a spire temporarily sealing up the singularity.
Media reports suggest the Seven (who have been struggling to keep the Zero Point under control for a while) will be a big feature on the new island. On the space side, there is reportedly a Seven rocket base landmark on the new map. Fortnite maker Epic Games says the Seven have sanctuaries throughout the island, but did not confirm yet the rocket base's existence.
New gameplay elements for the season, according to Epic, include weather effects like lightning and tornadoes along with guns, more guns for players. On the movement side, a new sliding functionality allows players to shoot and build even while they're careening downhill.
Space fans who can wait a couple of weeks will see the first confirmed bit of space lore this season, which is the arrival of famous "Star Wars" bounty hunter Boba Fett. Boba who will drop onto the island Dec. 24 to advertise the new franchise spinoff on Disney Plus, "The Book of Boba Fett."
We do expect Fortnite to deliver more space content soon given recent history. The game is known for dropping space references and other "Star Wars" content, including a Mandalorian-themed season in late 2020 and early 2021.
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Elizabeth Howell, Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022. She was contributing writer for Space.com (opens in new tab) for 10 years before that, since 2012. As a proud Trekkie and Canadian, she also tackles topics like diversity, science fiction, astronomy and gaming to help others explore the universe. Elizabeth's on-site reporting includes two human spaceflight launches from Kazakhstan, three space shuttle missions in Florida, and embedded reporting from a simulated Mars mission in Utah. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, and a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science since 2015. Her latest book, Leadership Moments from NASA, is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday.