In the five years Fortnite has existed, the game has seen thousands of changes, from complete overhauls of the island to small additions broade🐻ning the lore. The game has gone through many ups and downs, with fans leaving after a slow season, or returning as nജew modes are introduced.
Love it or hate it, Fortnite isn't going anywhere, and it's still going strong. While the game nowadays feels more like a platform for brands and franchises to come together, at its heart is still a competent shooter that feels fresh almost constantly. Here's every big update to Fortnite we have received and what it brought to the experience.
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Every Fortnite Update: Chapters and Seasons |
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Chapter 1 Season One
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Season Length |
50 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"First Flight" |
Chapter 1 launched the spectacle that is Fortnite. Although it wasn't called 'Chapter 1' because nobody knew how long the game would last, and certainly nobody knew that Fortnite would blow up and become a household name. Launching with just a few weapons and a very basic map, Fortnite was basic and limited.
The first season was a🌄lso the shortest; Epic Games re🅰alised what a juggernaut the game would become, so they quickly launched Season Two, bringing in a whole host of changes.
Chapter 1 Season Two
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Season Length |
70 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"Fort Knights" |
Season Two landed and with it came a new map, something that would become a tradition for the game. The theme for this season was knights and the medieval age, under the slogan "Fort Knights." The introduction of the Battle Pass not only revolutionised the game but also the industry, introducing a new standard. Interestingly, this first Battle Pass only had 70 tiers, while all others would have 100.
Every season of Fortnite overhauled not only the map, but also many gameplay mechanics, while introducing new items, weapons, and tactics. This season saw the introduction of the Small Shield Potion, which we now refer to as 'minis', also the healing Cozy Campfires, Impulse Grenade, and the well-loved Chug Jug. From Season Two onwards, Epic Games would 🎃begin vaulting items and weapons - removing them from the game to keep things fresh.
Chapter 1 Season Three
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Season Length |
58 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"Meteor Strike" |
Season Three saw the Battle Pass jump from 70 tiers to 100, which has become the standard. This season also saw some new implementations that became regular, most importantly, Content Updates. These were bi-weekly updates that would tweak the stats, squash the bugs and begin introducing different items and weapons. This season we saw the introduction of the Loot Llama, along with the Hand Cannon, Heavy Shotgun, and Vending Machines.
It's here that the Fortnite storyline began. While the story is often pretty light, Epic Games added a few memorable characters and a thin trail of moments that, when stitched together, would deliver a narrative for eager fans. It all started with a comet appearing in the sky above the map, leading fans to bღelieve the comet would strike and destroy the island.
Chapter 1 Season Four
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Season Length |
73 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"Brace For Impact" |
The comet seen above the map slammed into Dusty Depot, renaming it Dusty Divot. At this point, Epic Games began updating Fortnite significantly, not only adding things to the game or tweaking mechanics but changing the POIs in a number of ways, creating a map that constantly felt alive. As the season progressed, a rocket ship was built on the island, expected to blast into space. The rocket, however, cracked the sky opening a Rift in space and time.
The theme of this season brought in a traditional Heroes Vs Villains battle, with the different groups battling over POIs. This became a precursor to the first Marvel Comics collaboration, which saw players fight for Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet. We also saw the iconic Shopping Cart introduced - the first of Fortnite's vehicles - the Jetpack and the Thermal Scoped Assault Rifle.
Chapter 1 Season Five
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Season Length |
78 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"Worlds Collide" |
By the start of Season Five, Fortnite was taking over the internet. Twitch streaming figures were through the roof, and it was becoming a phenomenon. It was also the season that shaped what we see as Fortnite today - an ever-changing environment, creati🌠ng a game that felt fresh every few weeks.
The Rift in the sky had begun to close, spiking bursts of lightning across the landscape. As the last lightning bolt flew out, it created a large purple cube that fell to the ground. This cube, named Kevin by the community, spent much of the season rolling across the map before sinking into Loot Lake and turning the ♛water iꦆnto a bouncy jelly substance.
The first actual vehicle - the ATK golf buggy - dropped in Season Five, which gave players much more movement. We also got a range of SMGs added, the chaotic Heavy Sniper Rifle and the ever-popular Rift-To-Go, which also improved movement across the map.
Chapter 1 Season Six
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Season Length |
71 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"Darkness Rises" |
The Battle Pass began to evolve and offer new items for players, namely music discs which would alter the lobby music, and pet Back Blings. These pets could be petted and would react to what was happening in the game as you played. Another vehicle appeared on the island, which would cause carnage. The Quadcrasher had a plow on the front to destroy buildings, but it could also boost around the island, catching air, and performing stunts.
The storyline in Season Six developed slowly as the power from the Cube began tearing apart pieces of the map, creating large floating islands. Along with this, the power of the Cube brought us the first AI enemies - Cube Monsters. These purple creatures would rampage around hunting Loopers (players). Thankfully, players could use the new Shadow Stone to become a shadow for 45 seconds and avoid damage, while gaining spee🃏d.
Chapter 1 Season Seven
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Season Length |
84 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"You Better Watch Out" |
Season Seven kicked off after the 'Butterfly event' which brought a close to the Rift and Cube storyline. The theme for this season encompassed Christmas and winter. Ice and Snow would envelop the island, slowly melting away to reveal a lair for a new evil, The Ice King. At this point, Fortnite seemed to be constantly updating, adding new details to the island constantly. Perhaps the biggest addition to Fortnite in Season Seven was the X-4 Stormwing vehicle; a plane. This was the ꧃first time players could move across the island rapidly, while still raining down damage on everyone else.
Away from Battle Royale updates, Epic Games launched Creative Mode which allowed players to create their own maps and gamemodes. Creative Mode utilised easy placing of pre-built objects to allow anyone the opportunity to create a new corner of Fortnite. We also saw the first 14 Days of Fortnite Christmas event and the island saw the inclusion of zip lines and the Infinity Blade which linked to an Epic Games mobile game.
Chapter 1 Season Eight
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Season Length |
70 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"X Marks The Spot" |
The event ending Season Seven saw The Ice King become The Fire King and the creation of a large volcano on the Fortnite island. During this season, the volcano would erupt after a mini-event unvaulted items and weapons. The eruption would destroy several areas of the map, changing their geography. Several mechanics would overhaul the feel of the game in Season Eight; The Baller is a hamster ball vehicle that featured mounted grappling hooks allowing travel across different surfaces and Food was introduced which would heal.
Perhaps the biggest addition was the Reboot Van. Epic Games had been watching the Battle Royale competition closely and was influenced by Apex Legends. Epic Games introduced the Reboot system which allowed eliminated players to be 'rebooted' back into the game.
Chapter 1 Season Nine
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Season Length |
84 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"The Future Is Yours" |
Season Nine was all about rebirth as the island was being rebuilt after the volcano eruption. As the seasons progressed, a creature was revealed to be living within the ice, The Devourer, a powerful monster locked away by The Ice King. This season would take on a futuristic feel, with Tilted Towers being revamped into Neo Tilted.
This was felt after The Devourer broke free of the ice and began swimming around the island. This new threat needed to be destroyed, so players would witness the creation of Mecha Team Leader, a huge mech that would fight the monste﷽r in the season-⛎ending event.
Well-loved items and weapons were introduced for Season Nine; the Chug Splash and Combat Shotgun being two of them. Loot Drones were also created to hover above POIs dropping🎃 rare items when shot down.
Chapter 1 Season X
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Season Length |
73 Days |
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Notable Additions |
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Slogan |
"Out Of Time" |
Fortnite was already a household name, but Season X would end and break the internet. In-game events were a common sight by now, but Season X would end, bringing a close to many storylines. As the season-ending event played out, it ended with a Black Hole swallowing the island. This started a period of downtime which meant nobody could pla🦄y. Players would only see the Black Hole and the world was wondering where🏅 Fortnite had gone.
Before this kicked off, Season X brought a collaboration with DC Comics, transforming Tilted into Gotham City. We also saw the addition of Missions, which revamped the challenge system. Most notable was the addition of B.R.U.T.E Mechs which players could pilot and use to fight each other. This vehicle was extremely contentious and divided the player base due to the overpowered nature of the mech. This season saw the first Gaming Legends skin, the Psycho Bandit from Borderlands.♔ Fortnite would go on to collaborate with countless o🌠ther games.