What can we say? Fortnite is about to discontinue its online activities just for a while, and this will not be just a straightforward update. According to a message from an infamous informant ShiinaBR, there is a timer of a few hours before the server goes down, and this is for the Winterfest and Bleach crossover update. In simpler terms, a period of no activity will happen, and along with it, an enormous amount of festive mood and also the anime battles‘ swords will be present.
To the informed people, Epic Games is preparing the game for the annual Winterfest holiday event and the very famous Bleach collaboration at the same time. Therefore, the game will not be available for some time to allow the players to experience the new content. There is an extremely loud whisper of excitement and impatience among the players who are counting down the hours and days until they can play on the new island.
The community’s response as well as the comments on the Twitter post show a mix of emotions—thrill, and wants interspersed with a little confusion, which is characteristic of Fortnite Twitter. One Twitter user with the handle MJ 👑 wrote, “Greatness in 12 hours,” and that was generally the perception. Another user, moonlight, posted a gif with the words “i am ready,” which perfectly sums it up for us all. There is no doubt that there is excitement.
However, with each big update there comes speculation and wish lists that have developed at a speed faster than a grapple blade. A lot of the talk revolves around the Bleach collaboration. People are very eager to know if the character skins will be nice, and one of the users has quite well put it, “Fuck I hope the bleach skins look good 🤞.” To add to that, there is a discussion going on about who the characters will be. One user speculated whether a particular character was going to be offered as backbling or pet, admitting that while the character might be annoying, the stuffed animal version is cute. Another reply suggested that Ichigo might come with Rukia as backbling. These gamers are very particular about the details.
But the speculation does not end with Bleach. The Winterfest event itself is being watched very closely. Some players are already labeling this year’s festivities as “lame,” while others are making very detailed demands. “They better go all out this Christmas like they did Halloween because like The Grinch is much needed!” one player cried. The wish for a Grinch skin resurfaces among players, with one person saying, “The grinch better be added or im finna crash out” to emphasize their point. Yes, the demand for Christmas villains is strong among Fortnite players.
Moreover, there are rumors of other kinds of collaborations that are said to be passing through comments. There are people who are asking about a possible Home Alone collaboration, a SpongeBob crossover, and Final Fantasy being part of the party. One player is hoping for a “big Collab return like Master Chief last year,” and that shows how much expectations have risen as a result of Epic’s past surprise returns. Another user requested skins for Tate McRae and Megan Fox, just because. The wishlist is infinite.
Not every comment revolves around cosmetics, though. Some players are hoping for gameplay fixes during the festive period. “Hopefully the terrible SBMM gets reverted,” one of them said, passing on the complaint that has been very common regarding the matchmaking system. Another one asked whether Creative XP was working again, hinting at the ongoing problems with the treatment of some creators. It serves as a reminder that aside from the new flashy skins, there is a whole game underneath that must be properly functioning.
The tweet, along with the picture that was clicked, is believed to be either a teaser or a countdown graphic, and that always sends the community into a decoding frenzy. One response came up with the term “judgement day,” and in all honesty, that’s somewhat similar to the feeling of a big Fortnite update. Will the new content be able to match the hype? Will the skin that you wished for finally come? It’s a tough call!
The excitement is tremendous and the countdown continues. One person managed to put perfectly the mix of feelings: “Winterfest vibes + Bleach hype at the same time… this downtime better be worth it 😭🔥.” That is the pressure on Epic. They are melding a cozy, giving season with a high-energy, anime-battle-type crossover. It’s quite a concoction, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Fortnite.
So what happened next? The servers will be down 12 hours after the tweet. There will be a period when the game will not be playable. After that, when it comes back, the island will be covered in snow, and there will be presents in the Lodge waiting to be opened, and hopefully, players will be able to run around as Ichigo on their PlayStation or Xbox.
