Fortnite players believe the game’s third Chapter – and third Island layout – will arrive sooner than planned.
After ten seasons, the old Island of the battle royale was swallowed into a black hole, replaced by the relaunched Chapter 2 Island we have now.
Fans had expected Chapter 2 of Fortnite to run ten seasons as well, but there are now rumours that Epic may be intending to switch things up sooner than expected with the release of Chapter 3.
Fortnite is now in the midst of its 18th season, Chapter 2 Season 8, which will conclude on December 5th. But it’s presently up for debate whether we’ll receive a ninth and tenth season on the current map, which would take the game until late spring 2022, or a brand new Chapter before the end of 2021.
Fans have pieced together a few in-game indications suggesting Chapter 3 is on the way. This season’s introduction of the supremely powerful Cube Queen character has various associated items that reference time running out and the end of the Island, while a recent book-reading emote references getting to the “end of the chapter,” and this season’s introduction of the supremely powerful Cube Queen character has various associated items that reference time running out and the end of the Island.
This would also not be a hasty conclusion to the Chapter. We’ve now passed the tipping point where, despite the less seasons, Chapter 2 has lasted longer than the original, as Fortnite leaker Hypex just managed to note out last week.
Behind the scenes, there have been rumours of impending, in-development features such as a switch to Unreal Engine 5, the addition of weapon attachments, and an Apex Legends-style sliding mechanic, all of which seem more suited to the debut of a new map than the current one. (With the transition to Chapter 2, Fortnite included boats and swimming.)
Oh, and the dreaded Fortnite mechs are set to return for a limited time, a tribute to their controversial appearance at the end of Chapter 1 of Fortnite.
Perhaps most tellingly, a major Fortnite leak we reported on back in July – which revealed the game’s Ariana Grande concerts, Sideways zombie areas, and Cube Queen long before they were widely known – hinted that the latter character would be introduced in this season and then play a role in Chapter 3.