Fortnite update 5.40 DELAY: Are servers going offline? When does High Stakes start?

 update 5.40 appears to have been delayed by Epic Games.

Despite Fortnite patches typically going live every Tuesday, recent numbered updates have been a little harder to predict.

The previous numbered updated went live on Thursday, August 23. 

With Epic yet to announce any downtime, it looks like update 5.40 will launch on Thursday, September 6. It’s likely the High Stakes event will start on the same day.

With the update pushed back until Thursday, the good news is that there will be no downtime today.

Instead, expect the game to go offline for maintenance on the morning of September 6.

Full patch notes will be revealed on the day, but in the meantime, Epic has given fans a brief glimpse about what to expect.

Update 5.40 will fix an issue with player models not appearing in the game.

“Player character models are sometimes not appearing in-game,” reads an Epic post. “This causes what appears to be floating weapons to be the only thing visible.”

Nintendo Switch users can also expect a fix for broken gyro controls.

“The X and Y axis for the Switch gyro controls are not functioning as intended after the v5.10 update,” Epic continues. “The X-axis movement feels unnatural and the Y-axis is inverted.”

More exciting are the new gameplay additions, which include the Grappler gun.

Launching with the High Stakes event, the Grappler gun lets players quickly navigate the map by grappling to distant areas.

The High Stakes event, meanwhile, includes a brand new LTM, new skins and even its own set of challenges.

“Suit up… the High Stakes event begins next week and with it comes the new Getaway LTM, Wild Card outfit, and High Stakes Challenges!” reads an Epic tweet.

The Wild Card outfit launches with four different masks, which means it will be fully customisable.

The masks are based on the four different playing card suits, which means you can unlock heart, spades, diamond and club variants.

Other new items include the Cuff Case backbling and the Safe Cracker Glider.