Like, if you had gotten in Fortnite today, you would’ve definitely noticed something sinister glaring down from the skies. So, the usual moon and some bunker were the next to get lighting up with deep red hues. Not your sunset red, but a really ominous crimson akin to a blood-moon. Chill; the community is losing their minds.
The red paint on the moon and the bunker was first spotted by Twitter user @realAlucar, and that was shared by the well-known leaker, HYPEX. Honestly on the verge of being smug about it being too perfectly timed to be a coincidence. Epic is fond of teasing such visual treats just before completely swerving away from the storyline, while putting two landmark icons into red is as subtle as downing a rocket launcher in a default lobby.
Immediately, the replies were flooded by waves of theories with one name bouncing about over and over – Kado Thorne. Should you have taken a break from the island last season, Kado Thorne is the time-traveling vampire with a casino and loads of style. He had a story about heists and multiverses, and that guy pretty much had all sorts of tech for messing with time itself. Player reckon it’s his red glow calling card. Comments like “KADO THORNE???!?” by user pluhbruh_ and “_eveningdusk_ saying ‘Holy shit Kado Thorne is 11000% coming back’ would pretty much sum up the hype.” Even BrandonDesignz joked, “Thanks fam. That’ll be crazy,” in response to someone else mentioning the character.”
But it’s not just about one villain coming back. The red theme has been growing for some time now, and, well, some players are kinda, eh… getting… past it? tabirain14 just asked, “why are they pushing this stupid red theme so hard who gaf.” And a fine point that is. Then you have those like PulseFc_ who are totally down for it: “Something big is definitely coming” and even going so far as to mention that the “Red versions look ominous.” Such is the duality of the Fortnite fan base.
Then we have the bunker. Oh, the bunker. An object of intrigue since, like, Chapter 2. Never opened, just sat there menacingly. “And now it’s glowing red. That bunker is hiding something we are not ready to see,” comments InfinityGlock99, which is pretty much our mood. What could be inside? A new weapon? A portal? The entire Chapter 1 map stored on a hard drive? Your guess is as good as mine, but the mystery is half the fun.
Some of the replies are pure chaos, as one would anticipate. Ashie🇵🇱 mentioned Ninjago with “Blood moon? Ninjago fans rise!” along with a hype video. Meanwhile, PedroWand87376 tagged Bloodborne fans with a laughing emoji, of course; and oxinal202 simply chimed in with “Red moon by Lil Uzi Vert,” which, honestly, valid.
There is also a subset of players who are worried this means the OG mode won’t stay, well, OG. Ferreira080801 pointed out, “Looks like OG mode won’t be so ‘OG’ after all.” Which is a legit concern! The whole point of bringing back the old map was nostalgia, and changing fundamental aspects like the color of the moon definitely changes the vibe. Is nothing sacred??
Of course, no Fortnite theory thread wouldn’t be complete without wild crossover hopes. TalgosIslandBoy asked, “Anything about Rita Repulsa?” while RealGojifan01 wondered about Ghostbusters content. And why not throw Power Rangers and ghost hunting into the mix when we’ve already got time-traveling vampires and red moons, right?
The general idea, anyway, is this marks the start of a new narrative arc gearing up for the next season. Kado Thorne’s technology was all about manipulating reality and time, so turning the moon and bunker red might be some side effect of his machines booting back up. Maybe he’s trying to break into our timeline again, or perhaps there’s someone else wielding his tech. The bunker might be hiding a new piece of hardware or serve as a new POI entrance once the story takes off.
These are the kinds of environmental storytelling that Epic is good at. They don’t just pop up with a patch note saying “hey Kado Thorne is back,” they subtly change the world and let the players piece things together. An organic hype train is so much more engaging than any officially announced hype train. Even some players who think the red theme are a bit much have got to admit that it does work to get the chatter going.
So, what’s next? More teases. Maybe even encrypted files in the next update. And a whole lot of speculation. Kado Thorne? Werewolf? Something completely new? Everything is rapid on the island. The bunker will open one day. Right? Right?? Until then, we look up the red sky in anticipation of the first clue. Keep eyes open, gamers. Something’s coming, and it’s probably dressed up nice in a vampire suit.
