Update 2: Fortnite’s server downtime has now ended, meaning update 3.6 is live and the game is playable again. We’ll have the full patch notes up soon.
Update: Fortnite’s servers are currently down on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and mobile, as developer Epic prepares to roll out update 3.6 across the world. The developer has not stated when we can expect servers to be back online. Original story follows.
Fortnite will update to version 3.6 overnight, and there’s some reason to believe this will finally be the meteoric event the community has been waiting for. The tweet teasing the update, which will lead to sever downtime starting at 4 AM ET, cheekily mentions “sticking its landing.”
For weeks, players have been noticing a meteor in the skybox, apparently slowly getting bigger as it approaches. More recently it has gotten close enough to actually see movement in-game, including some occasional shooting stars streaking across the sky. All of that implies some cosmic event coming, leading to something. The speculation has mostly revolved around an update to nix Tilted Towers, a contentious area of the world map.
This may very well may be that update, but players have thought that before. The v3.5 update was also rumored to be the culmination of the meteor tease last week, but that didn’t happen. Instead, that update brought a limited time 50v50 mode along with balance changes.
Whatever changes come (and maybe more significantly, don’t come) with this update, it’s unlikely to slow the breakaway success of Fortnite. The mobile version is already a huge financial success for Epic, and the game has captured the kind of popular word-of-mouth that gets it free press from the likes of Drake and the Buffalo Bills. It’s preparing to launch in China, which is a ripe territory for free-to-play games, so we can probably expect it to continue to grow there as well.
