In a somewhat surprising and shocking way, the date for the release of the new season Fortnite Chapter 7 has been set for November 29. The release of Chapter 7 will happen only hours after the live event, which will make the players wait until the next day as they did in the previous ones. That’s pretty good news for Epic Games, it seems that they just decided to get rid of the 2 am downtime on November 30 that many gamers had already assumed and spread their update schedule quite a bit.
The well-known leaker ShiinaBR was the first to break the news through his Twitter account, who later revealed the astonishing timing of the release which sent the Fortnite community into a frenzy. Players were used to the long downtime after the live event that lasted until the morning and usually resulted in players not being able to log in. This time, however? They are told that their wait will be much shorter and that they can access the new chapter just a few hours after the live event has ended. The developers are literally changing the game.
Players’ reactions are all over the place. It is quite obvious that the player base is divided the two ways, one positively inclined and the other one is skeptical. One user under the name of Astro was so excited that he couldn’t hold it in and exclaimed, ‘WE KEEP WINNING,’ which he also supported with a GIF showing hype. In contrast to that, there are users raising their concerns regarding the server stability, like thisisminnow who said, ‘100% this will be more than a few hours of downtime lol.’ And they are right to be worried—the days of battle royale launches have been very difficult for players, with login queues and error messages becoming a strange kind of tradition on their own. Qarma1x was one of the skeptics and voiced his opinion by saying, ‘idk why they do this knowing damn well the servers can’t handle it.’ This is a legitimate point; the Epic servers have been unable to cope during less busy times, so a chapter release on the same day could easily lead to chaos.
Another group of users is trying to figure out when they would be able to play based on their respective time zones. A user by the name of pyrobinkx, who was identifying with the UK, lamented, ‘Great yay a probably 2 am season launch in the UK,’ adding a melting face emoji. The international audience is always trying to figure out when they can access the new content—the phenomenon is indeed global, as indicated by one user requesting the launch time in France. Speculation is high with guesses ranging from midnight or 4 am UK time for the servers to be back online. It’s a global waiting game, and everyone is trying to get their alarms set correctly.
The reality is that this change is very significant. As the user tw1st3d_alt said, ‘This is the first time we have seen this with a new Fortnite chapter, instead of waiting until the next day, am I right?’ They are correct. Generally, a new chapter meant a long downtime after the event that would last well into the next day. This new approach is not only a sign that Epic is confident in the reliability of their deployment process but it also hints that they are just trying to leverage the instant excitement created by the live event. In any case, it is a change that players are talking about.
The live event remains a complete mystery, but players have begun to conjecture about its nature. A user called martes_likes even joked about a ‘speed run of showing the collabs they got and then end it with friendship is power while killing someone memorable,’ specifically requesting the execution of the banana skin, Peely, saying ‘MAKE HIS GREED PERISH.’ It’s that kind of chaotic energy that epitomizes the Fortnite community—where else do you see demands for assassinations of fictional fruits?
Moreover, the rumors about the collaboration are spreading quickly. The debate even goes as far as discussing whether or not XXXTENTACION could be the next icon skin, with one user claiming he would be ‘the biggest Fortnite success’ while another one counterclaims that he would have ‘0 sales lmao.’ Such is the nature of Fortnite—one minute it’s all about server issues, the next it’s a heated discussion on rap artists’ posthumous crossovers. You really never know what the next topic will be.
Some gamers have even started to plan their day around the release time. DEM0NITIZATION expressed a concern which is shared by many when he said, ‘but like… what if it didn’t because I work that day.’ It really is a tough call for those with adult responsibilities, as they can to try and be the first to experience the new chapter or stick with their job. Meanwhile, That Drem Guy just stated his sorrow with the words: ‘Dude that’s gonna be like midnight for me 😭,’ thereby underlining the universality of the PlayStation and Xbox Crocs gaming community.
