Original Fortnite map set to partly return thanks to time travel twist, leaks suggest
UPDATE: Epic confirms.
UPDATE 27/10/23: Fortnite's original map will return on 3rd November 2023.
Epic Games made the annouNcement via social media this afternoon, lining up with previous leaks - as previously reported below.
"Sprint (or Mantle, your choice) back to Chapter 1," reads a post by Epic Games on X, formerly Twitter. The wording here suggests the game will retain its newer movement features (such as sprinting and mantling) while reverting through time travel shenanigans back to the battle royale's original Island.
There's more on how that will work - and what will come next - in our original story below.
ORIGINAL STORY 11/10/23: Fortnite will drop players back into the game's basic but beloved original map - or at least parts of it.
That's according to a wave of reports from trusted leakers such as HypeX and Shiina, who rely on insider information and details gleaned from within Fortnite's files.
Yesterday, Fortnite imagery appeared online that referenced a return to the original "Chapter 1" map, as this season's villain Kado Thorne can be seen standing in front of a time machine set to the date "2018 07 12" - that's the day the original map's fifth season launched.
It's claimed that the end of the current Fortnite season will see this time machine go haywire, and bring parts of the original Fortnite map into the present.
Fortnite's current season (Chapter 4 Season 4) is slated to end on 3rd November. After this, the game's next season is then expected to showcase the original Fortnite map - likely with its original seasonal changes being added over subsequent weeks - through the rest of next month.
After that, Fortnite will shift fully into its next Island map with Chapter 5 in December. Phew!
November's nostalgia-themed mini-season with original Fortnite map chunks, as well as the game's original weapon pool, would be unlike anything Epic Games has done in Fortnite so far. However, the developer has consistently sought to surprise fans with when and how it rolls out major seasonal and chapter changes.
The original Fortnite map holds an immense amount of nostalgia for the game's playerbase, and not only harks back to the battle royale's huge surge in popularity, but also some of its most memorable moments: its volcano eruption, giant mecha fight, and the first emergence of Kevin the Cube.
Fans have long called for the game to return to Chapter 1's map, despite its now-simplistic design, setting and lack of features. Hopefully this return satisfies that curiosity.
A re-do of the game's original black hole event would also answer the question of how Epic Games will destroy the current Chapter 4 map. (Chapter 2's map was memorably flipped upside down to reveal another Island underneath, while Chapter 3's map was gobbled up and exploded by chrome goo.)
Epic Games briefly referenced its plans for Fortnite when company boss Tim Sweeney announced last month's layoffs at the company, which are set to result in 830 people losing their jobs. Mediatonic, the Epic-owned UK studio behind Fall Guys, was heavily impacted.
At the time, Epic said its work on both the next season and next chapter of Fortnite remained a priority for the company - noting, as leaks suggest, there is still another season before Chapter 5 rolls around.
Epic is also deep in development on three other major projects in Fortnite, codenamed Del Mar, Sparks, and Juno. These may relate to a car racing mode, a major Lego collaboration and the next musical experience.