Fortnite teases season 2 chapter 2 with cryptic messages – CNET

Fortnite is now in its longest season since the game’s debut. The next season — chapter 2 season 2 — is set to launch on Feb. 20, and to get the hype going, developer Epic Games started an international alternate reality game.

On Sunday, posters and digital advertisements for Fortnite began appearing in cities across the globe. These ads show a gold handprint and a local number to call that has a recording referencing an agency. The first advertisement seen by Fortnite fans was at a metro station in Brazil, according to one data miner.

A sort of ad for Fortnite showed up at a metro station in Brazil. When you call the phone number, it says this:

Yes sir
The agents were called
Card to access the safe(vault) purchased

Potential ARG?

pic.twitter.com/RCaRTKTk0I

— FortTory – Fortnite Leaks & News (@FortTory) February 16, 2020

The number on the ad serves up a recording that says, in Portuguese, “The agents were called. Card to access the safe purchased.”

Another Fortnite poster, also with a golden handprint and the phone number, appeared in Russia.

A Fortnite data miner compiled the list of numbers, messages and locations into a tweet Monday. The recordings mention agents being recruited and then mobilizing. There’s also a reference to a mission changing.

Another data miner compiled all the voice recordings into one video clip.

A German number was found Monday afternoon, and its voice message mentions map coordinates: D3, G4 and F2. So far there have been no discoveries in those areas.

On the official Fortnite Discord on Sunday, a bot called The Agency began recruiting members seemingly at random. 

Then on Monday morning, the official Fortnite Twitter account sent a tweet saying “Transmission Intercepted” while the rest of the message was blacked out, like a document with redacted info.

Not long after that initial post, the account tweeted a second image with part of the blacked-out text revealed, showing “FN.CH02.S02,” which likely refers to Fortnite chapter 2 season 2.

The Fortnite account tweeted a third time Monday with a third image that revealed more. This time, the word “origin” can be seen. The third image resembles a face, accompanied by several words.

Monday evening saw a fourth tweet from the Fortnite Twitter account. This time, the final text was revealed, “Origin == Au” and the start of chapter 2 season 2, “022020” or Feb. 20, 2020.

Au is the periodic table symbol for gold, which ties into the gold handprint and theme used in the teases. The completed image, however, doesn’t have a clear meaning as of now.

The Fortnite Twitter account tweeted Tuesday morning with another image and redacted info. 

The picture in the tweet is clearly a bundle of dynamite. As for the blacked-out info, it will likely be revealed in tweets throughout the day. 

Tuesday saw another tweet from the Fortnite account. This time around, there was no redacted info revealed, but the image changed from dynamite to what appears to be a tank or propane. 

What exactly this agency refers to and how this will change the game will likely be made clear in the days leading up to Feb. 20.

Fortnite is available for PC, PS4, Android, iOS, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

This article was originally published on Feb. 17 and is updated as new information is discovered.