Everyone has a fighting chance
The latest Fortnite update notes have been published on the official site. Most notably in Battle Royale, the v4.4 update marks the return of the Sniper Shootout Limited Time Mode, now in version 3. In addition, players will find a new Thermal Scope Assault Rifle and the ability to place traps on stairs and slopes.
When Fortnite is updated to v4.3, players will be able to roll into battle in a shopping cart, something that is sure to strike fear into the hearts of enemies. So load up a friend and head out to destroy your enemies with the awe-inspiring power of THE CART!
Epic has posted a, well, EPIC State of Development newsletter on the Fortnite site to reveal many of the things the team is currently working on. Though it starts with improvements to controller support, it is the limited time mode called “Playground LTM (v1)” that has caught our attention. During Playground, players will have adjusted settings to allow for exploration of the map with increased resource generation, treasure chests and ammo crate spawns…and “Lloads of Llamas”.
During E3 next month, Epic will be hosting a Fortnite celebrity Pro-Am Tournament that will feature a $3M prize pool. Winners will be able to donate their earnings to the charity of choice. Look for such well-known streamers as Ninja / Marshmello, Myth / Paul George, Pokimane / Desiigner, Markiplier / Joel McHale, Gotaga / Demetrious Johnson and many others. This tournament prize pool is not part of the previously announced $100M eSports investment Epic is making in Fortnite.
If you’ve been longing to take flight in Fortnite, we’ve got good news: Jetpacks have (finally) arrived, at least for a limited time. Epic explained that these are considered “backpacks” and are true gameplay items, not cosmetics ala Back Bling. They take up an inventory slot and are consumed on use. Once consumed, it is destroyed, though another can be picked up.
Epic is going to take Fortnite into battle royale esports in a great big way and has committed $100,000,000 in tournament prize pools for the 2018-2019 year of competitive play. “We’re getting behind competitive play in a big way, but our approach will be different”, the blog reads, “- we plan to be more inclusive, and focused on the joy of playing and watching the game.”
Players who’ve been hoping to play Fortnite on Android devices may get their wish as early as this summer. In a new blog post on the Fortnite site, devs made a brief announcement that “Fortnite is coming to Android! We are targeting this summer for the release”. The blog also detailed a number of improvements coming to the iOS version that will also be included in the Android device at launch.
Epic has announced a new limited time mode for Fortnite. The Solo Showdown will be running from today through May 21st with players able to earn up to 50,000 V-Bucks and the top 100 players recognized for their achievement. The goal of the adding the game mode is to provide a “stepping stone to learn how to build great events for all types of players”.
Thanos will be making himself known in Fortnite Battle Royal starting on May 8th. The Fortnite Battle Royale Infinity Gauntlet event sends players off to find the Infinity Gauntlet somewhere hidden on the map. The first lucky player to find it becomes Thanos in the game. There’s no details yet on when the event ends so it’s worth checking out after tomorrow’s maintenance and become Thanos!
SuperData Research has an amazing statistic to add to Fortnite’s growing list of amazing statistics: In March, viewers spent 611 MILLION hours watching the game. Obviously, that doesn’t even include the hundreds of millions of hours that were collectively played by those they were watching. Can anything stop Fortnite?!