Fortnite adds Wild West mode, but powerful new dynamite item already disabled

Fortnite has been threatening to go all cowboy since the start of its current season, with Battle Pass skin Calamity changing from simple farmhand to badass fluorescent cowgirl over the past couple of months.

Now, with the game's Kevin the Cube drama over and Halloween long since passed, the Wild West is finally here.

Content Update 6.30 is now live, and adds a new explosive - dynamite - and a Wild West mode to use it in.

But at the time of writing - less than an hour after it was added - dynamite has been removed from the game. In a statement posted to Twitter, Epic said it had pulled the explosive from play while it investigated a rise in game crashes.

Fortnite's wild Wild West mode doesn't feel hugely different - you just can't use any automatic weapons, rocket launchers or traps. (I'm sure cowboys had traps, but okay.) Dynamite is the only explosive allowed - when it is allowed in the game.

Shield potions are out, but Slurp Juice is in. I knew that stuff looked alcoholic.

All of which means you'll be rustling up kills with shotguns, revolvers and hunting rifles. Shotguns it is, then.

Looking further to the future - there's a storm on the horizon. A wintry looking blizzard has appeared over the past few days, off the coast of Lucky Landing and Flush Factory - and the clues all point to this being the start of Fortnite's Christmas event.