Fortnite season 4 is almost here, with the release date and start time for the next Battle Pass fast approaching. Even if you’re a seasoned Fortnite fan and you’ve been around for plenty of new season launches there are a number of things that could catch you off guard with the season 4 chapter 2 launch. The most obvious change that will be coming with Fortnite season 4 is the theme for the next Battle Pass.
Typically a new Fortnite season is themed around something of Epic Games’ own creation, with the last theme being Splash Down for the flooded Battle Royale map.
Oftentimes Battle Royale fans have to rely on leaks to find out what the next season’s Fortnite theme could be.
But this time the cat is well and truly out of the bag early, with Epic Games doing plenty to confirm and promote the theme of Fortnite season 4.
That’s because the next Fortnite season will be themed around one of the biggest entertainment properties in the world – Marvel.
This will mark the first time a Fortnite season has ever been themed around an existing IP, but in many ways this has been a long time coming.
Epic Games and Marvel have had a working relationship for quite some time, going all the way back to the Thanos Avengers crossover event that took place two years ago.
Having an entire Battle Pass based around Marvel opens Fortnite up to so many possibilities in terms of inbound skins, new map POIs and a potential live event.
But there is plenty of other things Fortnite fans will need to know about the season 4 launch. If you have any questions about the new Battle Pass then don’t fret, Express.co.uk is here to help…
FORTNITE SEASON 4 – WHEN IS THE START TIME AND RELEASE DATE? WHEN WILL FORTNITE SEASON 3 END?
The Fortnite season 4 release date is Thursday August 27, which is when Fortnite season 3 will end.
Epic Games has also confirmed the start time for the upcoming 14.00 patch. The Fortnite Status Twitter account revealed that servers will be going down at 7am BST on Thursday August 27 for the rollout of the new season patch.
The @FortniteStatus Twitter account posted: “Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 4 (v14.00) arrives August 27. Downtime for the Season begins at 2 AM ET (06:00 UTC).”
The Fortnite Status Twitter later added: “Note: With the launch of the new Season, patch sizes will be larger than normal.”
For those in other regions, the server downtime for Fortnite season 4 will begin at 8am CEST on Thursday August 27 and at 11pm pacific time on Wednesday August 26.
FORTNITE SEASON 4 – WILL THERE BE A LIVE EVENT TO KICK OFF THE NEW FORTNITE SEASON?
A mainstay of the Fortnite season crossover has been an end-of-season event which ushers in one Battle Pass from another.
However, these events typically happen on the penultimate weekend of a season with teases happening in the lead up to it – and so far there’s not been a peep from Epic Games about one happening.
The closest thing we’ve had to a Fortnite season 3 end event is the comic book parts that have been added to Fortnite daily by Epic Games.
So, it seems highly unlikely that we’ll see a Fortnite The End or Travis Scott-style live event happen before season 3 draws to a close.
Fingers crossed though we will get a Marvel-themed Fortnite event happening during season 4 though.
The prospect of seeing superheroes and supervillains battling it out in real-time in front of our eyes on the Fortnite map sounds like a mouth-watering prospect.
FORTNITE SEASON 4 – HAVE THERE BEEN ANY LEAKS? WILL THERE BE ANY MAP CHANGES? WHAT COULD BE THE MARVEL SKINS HEADING TO FORTNITE?
One of the most notable Fortnite leakers, HYPEX, in the run-up to the Fortnite season 4 has rounded up plenty of leaked details that fans need to know in one single, handy tweet.
In a post online the Fortnite leaker revealed details on the Battle Pass skins, which will include a Wolverine skin, as well as teasing the arrival of a Thor POI in season 4.
HYPEX tweeted: “Ok now that my source was right, here’s some more info.
“There will be a Marvel/Thor POI. There will be a Wolverine skin. They also had a Peely with little banana claws concept (like to the “Wolverine Banana” meme). Comic Books pages will be found and collected in the map.”
In other tweets HYPEX teased the arrival of other upcoming Marvel skins, such as Groot and She-Hulk.
FORTNITE SEASON 4 – ALL SOUNDS GREAT, ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?
Actually, and unfortunately, yes – there is one other point we have to touch on before we go.
At the moment Epic Games are involved in a dispute with smartphone giants Apple and Google.
Earlier this month Apple took Fortnite off their App Store, with Google removing the hit game from the Play Store soon afterwards.
The dispute surrounds Epic Games putting their own payment systems in Fortnite, bypassing the one that gives Apple and Google a 30 percent slice of each and every in-game transaction.
Epic is now taking Apple and Google to court, with the case rumbling on as we speak.
But as a result this will impact iOS and Android fans differently. Because Fortnite first launched on the Epic Games website, before heading to the Play Store, the game can still be downloaded from the old school route.
Which means Android fans will still be getting the upcoming season 4 update. Unfortunately it’s a different story for iOS fans.
Besides removing Fortnite from the App Store Apple has also blocked the ability for the game to be updated.
Which means millions of iPhone and iPad gamers are set to miss out on the season 4 update.
If they around have Fortnite instead then they’ll still be able to play via the 13.40 patch, which was released before Fortnite was taken off the App Store.
But they won’t be getting any of the new Fortnite season 4 content, such as the upcoming Marvel skins, fresh challenges and everything included in the latest Battle Pass.
Epic Games revealed this previously, but reminded Fortnite players about it once again in the run-up to the season 4 launch.
On Wednesday August 26 the official Fortnite Twitter account posted: “Apple has blocked your ability to update Fortnite on the App Store, and has said they will terminate our ability to develop Fortnite for Apple devices. As a result, Chapter 2 – Season 4 (v14.00) will not release on Apple devices on August 27.”
Fortnite season 4 will still be playable via the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android devices and PCs.