Our own articles, short notes on what changed and when, and the in-game news tiles Epic is showing right now. Every note is our summary, with a link to where it came from.
Chapter 7 Season 4 turned the Island into a hacked arcade. Here's what changed at launch, what has arrived since, and what's still to come before it ends on November 1.
Sora and friends arrived on September 17 with a Mythic Keyblade, two new Overrides and a Shop set due to stay until October 1. PAC-MAN and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners are sharing the spotlight.
The XP sources Epic actually documents, this season's boosts worth using, and why idle 'XP farm' maps are a bad bet for your account.
Fortnite's original co-op mode went free-to-play in April. Here's what you get now, what's running this autumn, and who it suits.
Card images: Epic Games' artwork, from the Fortnite Wiki and Epic's in-game news.
Epic's in-game news tiles as the data source last saw them (updated 8 Nov 2026 14:00 UTC). Titles and images are Epic's; they carry no links because in the game they don't either.
Saved when the page was built (2026-11-09 05:33 UTC). With JavaScript on, this checks for the live tiles.
Epic's in-game news says a new Captain has arrived on the island: beat the Lil Uzi Vert boss to earn Lil' Uzi Vert Jr., and you can also pick up the Lil Uzi Vert's Lil' SMG. The same news feed keeps pushing Devil Fruits dropped across the map, with the Gum-Gum Fruit turning you into Luffy and the Flame-Flame Fruit into Ace.
Epic's in-game news says Fortune Sprite variants show up on the island on November 7, with sparkling Sprites during 2-4 PM ET and 9-11 PM ET. Players who drop in during those windows can pick up A$AP Rocky's Shock Rocket and a Self Revive. The same news feed also points to Devil Fruits dropping across the map, including the Gum-Gum and Flame-Flame Fruits.
The Treasure Hunters mini-season went live on November 1 with update v43.00. Epic's in-game news now highlights Luffy, Nami and Usopp outfits, One Piece spots such as Arlong Park and Baratie Bay on the skull-shaped island, and a Gum-Gum Gatling flex. It also reminds squads that a downed teammate drops a Reboot Card that can be taken to a Reboot Van. Beebom's patch-notes rundown lists Ace, Nico Robin and Charlotte among the Battle Pass skins and Gold Sprites returning on November 12 with update 43.10.
Destructoid reports that special treasure chests in Treasure Hunters battle royale can drop a Pirate Shop Token. Activating one gives you and your team two weeks in which most Item Shop items bought with V-Bucks, including the new One Piece outfits, can be claimed for free; real-money purchases are excluded. There are two token types, one for a window between November and December 15, 2026 and one for January 1 through the end of 2027, and the drop rates are said to be very low.
Beebom's read of the early Treasure Hunters notes lists the Gum-Gum and Flame-Flame Devil Fruits (which turn the player into Luffy or Ace) among the new items, along with Zoro's Three Sword Style, Usopp's Slingshot and two Save the World imports, the Bundlebuss Repeater Rifle and Gilded Dragoon Shotgun. Gold Bars and Vending Machines are removed, NPCs can be hired for free, and weapons such as the Sentinel Pump Shotgun, Machine SMG and Hammer Assault Rifle come out of the vault. The notes also mention Gold Sprites returning on November 12 with update 43.10 and a Chapter 7 live event planned for December 5.
Beebom's rundown of Epic's notes for update v43.00 says downtime starts at 2 AM ET on November 1 and servers return at 6 AM ET. The Override map is replaced by Crossbones Isle, a skull-shaped island with 12 named locations, and lobbies are capped at 80 players. A new Captain Days system brings a different Captain each week with their own crew and point of interest, and the loot pool changes with who is in command, starting with Luffy in week 1.
Epic posted a 28-second trailer for the Treasure Hunters mini-season, which goes live on November 1. It shows a new skull-and-crossbones island, two pirate-themed weapons (a blunderbuss shotgun and an early assault rifle), and Luffy's Gum-Gum moves as part of his Mythic. Beebom reports that the Going Merry will serve as the Battle Bus, and that Sprites and Extraction Sites do not appear in the footage.
Epic has named the mini-season that closes out Chapter 7 'Treasure Hunters' and put a November 1 date on it, with One Piece as the crossover. A short trailer shows the Going Merry sailing through a misty night, though no skins or items have been shown yet.
During SEGA's Sonic Club Chaos livestream for the series' 35th birthday, the publisher said its Fortnite collaboration with Epic will continue. A short teaser showed Metal Sonic's eyes glowing red, hinting that he will join the Battle Royale, but no date was given. Sonic is already part of the current Chapter 7 Season 4.
Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy and Frankenstein's Bride are expected to return in the Item Shop rotation on October 11 during Fortnitemares. They first arrived in Chapter 2 Season 8 in 2021 and were last sold in October 2022. ComicBook estimates the set at 4,900 V-Bucks and single skins at 1,200, with the caveat that prices may differ.
Epic's October 6 hotfix raises the sprint speed of Freddy's Nightmare from 1.4x to 1.9x and cuts its stamina drain from 15 to 8 per second. Rebecca's AR and SMG lose about half of their environmental damage but reload faster, the AR from 1.73 to 1.36 seconds. The Dual Fiend Hunters also get tighter ADS spread, down from 0.33 to 0.28.
Vice's rundown of the live event adds Hazbin Hotel, Hollow Knight, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween Horror Nights to the collab list. New weapons include the Bonerattler SMG, which shows enemies through walls, and a Wood Stake Shotgun, while Nightmare Neighborhood and Freaky Fields join Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria as new locations. The FNAF skins arrive right after downtime, the Honey and Obsession Sprites follow on October 15, and the other crossover cosmetics roll out through October.
Fortnitemares goes live on October 1 after downtime that starts at 4 AM ET and runs about two hours, and it lasts until Chapter 7 Season 4 ends on November 1. Battlewoods is reworked into the spooky Gravegate, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza lands as a new landmark, and the Pumpkin Launcher returns to the loot pool. New Sprites to hunt include Pumpkin and Vampire variants.
Epic's key art confirms Five Nights at Freddy's, Beetlejuice, Slender Man, Freddy Krueger, The Purge and Black Clover for Fortnitemares, which returns on Thursday, October 1. Four new doll-themed original cosmetics were also shown, and skins are expected to arrive in stages through October rather than all at once.
Swizzy and Pixie topped the final Antwerp leaderboard with 525 points, edging AURA's t3eny and shxrk (523) and BIG's Malibuca and Vico (521) by just four points to take the $2,000,000 event. The win pays Swizzy and Pixie $400,000 and makes Swizzy the first player to win back-to-back FNCS Global Championships, after also winning in 2025 with a different pair of teammates.
Day one of the FNCS Global Championship at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp is done, with BIG's Malibuca and Vico topping the six-match leaderboard at 304 points and 25 eliminations, T1's demuś and darm close behind. Japanese duo Koyota and yuma grabbed two Victory Royales and sit third, with the final three games and the $2,000,000 prize pool decided on Day 2.
Two three-hour Power Hour sessions ran on September 26 (2-5 PM ET and 9 PM-midnight ET), dropping every player in with free Presents and boosting spawns of the Exotic Balloon Popper Assault Rifle. Five new Birthday Sprites went live alongside it, turning chest openings and, at max level, eliminations into a chance for cake slices.
Epic revealed three fresh Admin Panel codes during the FNCS broadcast to mark the game's ninth birthday: WeAreTheWorldChampionsToday for a limited-edition Back Bling, DustySprites for 5,000 Sprite Dust, and WhoCrackedTheCode for 40,000 Battle Pass XP. Codes are entered through the lobby's Admin Panel menu and are case-sensitive.
Joker (P5R) and Panther (P5R), Persona 5 Royal's take on Ann Takamaki, are now in the Item Shop together with a Morgana companion. Epic's official in-game news feed also lists a Morgana Bus vehicle, usable in both Battle Royale and Rocket League.
The September 25 Shop lists the Madison Beer Bundle at 3,400 V-Bucks until October 4, and adds CONTROL Resonant's Dylan Faden, marked New, at 1,500 V-Bucks until October 1. Since the September 24 reset, Buzz Lightyear and Emperor Zurg have been back in a 3,400 V-Buck bundle, with the Pizza Planet Delivery Truck at 2,000, and Crimson Desert's Kliff is 1,500; both sections leave after September 27.
Madison Beer's set reached the Shop at 8 PM ET on September 24 with two outfits, Make You Mine Madison and a music-reactive Satin Angel Madison, plus angel-wing Back Bling, an OG-style pickaxe and the bittersweet and yes baby emotes. Her songs bittersweet, yes baby and complexity are new Jam Tracks in Fortnite Festival. A Madison Beer Icon Cup in Duos Reload, Duos Zero Build and Solo Reload Mobile hands the Satin Angel outfit and wings to top regional finishers.
Epic's v42.20 notes scheduled Bounty Hunter Sprite variants for Thursday, September 24; they can appear when you eliminate opponents and only level up from eliminations. Two Match Overrides were announced for the same day: Health Siphon, where dealing damage heals you, and Suppressing Fire, which gives ranged weapons bigger magazines and infinite ammo.
In the September 23 Shop, the full KINGDOM HEARTS Bundle was listed at 4,500 V-Bucks, with Sora's set at 1,800 and Riku, Kairi or Roxas at 1,600 each, all due to leave on October 1. The six-item PAC-MAN Bundle cost 2,200 V-Bucks until September 25, and a Cyberpunk section with Lucy from Edgerunners, Johnny Silverhand, V and Adam Smasher ran until September 26.
VICE reports that Epic posted a teaser on X dating Fortnitemares 2026 to October 1, with the slogan "The Game Is Cursed". The collab lists circulating online are leaks and rumours, not announcements.
The top 50 Duos meet at Antwerp's Lotto Arena for 12 matches over two days, playing for a $2,000,000 prize pool; the broadcast starts at 4 PM CEST each day. You can watch on watch.fortnite.com, Epic's Twitch, YouTube and TikTok channels or the in-game Legends Landing island (2325-4055-3398), and watching on Twitch can earn The Champion's Chargers Kicks.
Epic has teased Persona 5, and Beebom reports Joker and Panther outfits plus a Morgana Sidekick for the Shop reset on September 25 at 8 PM ET. Persona 5 Royal was on Epic's list of Override partners from the start of the season.
The yearly birthday event brought back Birthday Presents, the Firework Flare Gun and Balloons, plus nine quests that unlock the Choco-9 Cake Back Bling, Cake Crusher Pickaxe and FNCS Sentry Back Bling at three, six and nine completions. Epic's notes add a Birthday Sprite from September 26 that gives Chests, and at max level eliminations, a chance to drop cake.
OG's Season 9 storyline closed with The Final Showdown live event on August 29, and OG Season X has been reshaping the classic map since. With v42.20 the community Fortnite Wiki records Gotham City replacing Neo Tilted, and Epic's in-game news pitches Batman's Grapnel Gun and Batarang for the new area.
Sora, Riku, Kairi and Roxas are in the Shop, and the Kingdom Key and Sea Salt Ice Cream are in matches. Two themed Overrides spawn under a heart-shaped moon: Recovery makes eliminations drop healing orbs, and Level Up hands every squad member a Mythic Kingdom Key.
Bandai Namco's second PAC-MAN wave added Mecha Ghost mini-bosses that drop high-tier Mythic loot and a Blinky-based Sprite that cloaks you when you take damage; both are due to stay until October 31. The PAC-MAN Sidekick is in the Shop from September 19 to 25.
Update v42.20 added Rebecca's dual-wielded guns from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, a refreshed Loot Hack lineup and a Tetris Tower objective you climb for a reward. Cheat Codes now roll Sprite rarities differently, and NA-West, NA-Central and NA-East were merged into a single NA region with a subregion preference in settings.
Epic says you can party up and voice chat across Fortnite, the Epic Games Launcher and the Epic Games mobile app, move a call between devices and keep talking with the app in the background. Friends who accept your invite land in the same Fortnite lobby automatically.
After a Mega Man Cup on September 8, Epic's in-game news featured the Mega Man X outfit on September 11, with a toggleable helmet and a Buster Cannon transformation. Mega Man's arm cannon, the Mega Buster, arrived in Battle Royale with the season launch.
The first mid-season update added Big Head Mode and Prop Hunt as Match Overrides, and put the Holo Twister and Deadeye Assault Rifles and the Wrecker Revolver into the Loot Hack pool. New Sprites included X-Ray and Onigiri, which VICE reports were community Design-a-Sprite winners.
LEGO Fortnite Odyssey added Gotham City locations and quests that unlock Bat-Gear and vehicles such as the 1989 Batmobile. You can also recruit Batman as a Villager and build with a batch of new bricks.
Save the World's v42.10 update reopened the gothic Hexsylvania Ventures zone under a Short Range modifier, brought back five Dungeons and replaced Rad Llamas with Fortnitemares Llamas bought with Candy. Refuel the Homebase also lost its 20-minute timer in favour of up to four in-game days.
Every Sprite you collected in Season 3: Runners now lives in the Sprite Garden, a mode where you can play with them and show your collection to friends. Sprites also joined Ranked with their powers switched off, but Epic vaulted them from Ranked on August 28 while it decides whether they belong in the Ranked loot pool.
Fortnite's new season, Override, launched on August 20 with a video-game theme and guest franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Tetris and PAC-MAN. Override Consoles appear in every match and let the first player to reach one change the rules for the whole lobby. Epic's Battle Pass page gives the season's end as November 1, 2026 (Eastern Time).
The Pass unlocks Sonic the Hedgehog straight away and also holds the Tails Sidekick and outfits including Wrixel, Mali, Geno, Phantom, Grace Crowne, Bastian and K1TTY W1NS. It costs 800 V-Bucks (or comes with Fortnite Crew) and can pay back up to 800 V-Bucks as you level. Gifting it to a friend unlocks the Peril Peak Mali style for both of you.
Update v42.00 added three named locations: Sonic's loop-filled Green Hill Zone, the ancient Stone Sanctum and Reality's Reign, a maze of pipes and power cables that Epic invites you to follow. The same update brought Cheat Codes, Sprite-Dust-powered Loot Hacks and Lobby Hack codes entered in a new lobby Admin Panel.
Epic set a weekly schedule for the season: Cheat Code Mondays with boosted Sprite rewards and a new Lobby Hack, new items on Thursdays and themed Power Hours on Saturdays. So far the Saturday Power Hours have run from 2 to 4 PM ET and again from 9 to 11 PM ET.
Epic brought the Unreal MCP plugin from UE 5.8 to Unreal Editor for Fortnite, so MCP-compatible agent tools can write and compile Verse, place and configure devices, build Scene Graph entities and UI, and run test sessions. Whatever the agent makes stays an ordinary, editable part of the project.
Disney's Star Wars island Smugglers Gambit went live on August 16 and connects to the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Eligible riders who link their MyDisney and Epic accounts get the Forsworn Trooper outfit, and their ride score becomes credits on the island.
Festival Season 15 started on July 30 with Lil Tecca as its Icon and four of his songs as new Jam Tracks. The Neon Dreams Music Pass carries his music-reactive Tour Ready outfit, and a separate Lil Tecca outfit is sold in the Shop.
Epic's support site says Ballistic and Festival Battle Stage went offline on April 16, 2026, and Rocket Racing will be removed in October 2026, along with UEFN islands built on its templates. Your customised cars stay usable in the Vehicle Locker, and Festival Main Stage and Jam Stage remain.
Since April 16, 2026, anyone can play Save the World for free on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, cloud and Nintendo Switch 2. Epic says Founders keep earning V-Bucks from Daily Quests, Mission Alerts, Storm Shield Defense missions and existing challenges.
Notes are our own summaries, checked on 24 Sep 2026. Dates are when the news happened or was announced. Things marked as reports (VICE, Beebom) come from those outlets, not from Epic. Images: Epic Games' artwork, from its in-game news, via Fortnite-API.com, or via the Fortnite Wiki (each one is credited under it).
This hub is made by the team building Drop Companion, an AI companion for Fortnite that watches your match and reacts in voice as whatever outfit you wear. It is out now for Windows, free to try.