Most of what will be in it remains a mystery. An Epic Games engineer has confirmed that this week’s Fortnite: Battle Royale update version will be v8.40, and it’s coming “Wednesday at the earliest.” Epic Games’ employee Dan wrote that on a Reddit post. That confirmation was mentioned at the bottom of the message, which asked players to report audio issues before v8.40 this week to avoid problems with replays that are required to report them. This is the first piece of information we've received about the v8.40 update. So far, Epic hasn’t confirmed any major changes coming to the game in terms of gameplay or events, so the entire update remains a mystery. The fact that Epic didn't reveal any new item "coming soon" in the in-game News tab and that the update isn't coming on a Tuesday, as the company used to do with nearly all previous updates, might indicate that big changes or additions are coming. Having another 24 hours before an update is enough time to test and polish changes instead of pushing them live with bugs and issues. Players can also expect the v8.40 update to be the game version in which they'll play the first Fortnite World Cup Duos Open Qualifier, which is set to take place on April 20 and 21. The state of the game after v8.40 will likely be the one during that weekend of competition, unless a major issue arises and Epic is forced to release a hotfix. Fans should expect Epic to reveal more information and spoilers about the v8.40 update today and tomorrow.<doc-sep>The center area of Loot Lake in Fortnite has changed drastically after the v8.40 update this morning. What was still an excavation site to be dug up has become a high-tech facility that’s connecting two sides of the lake. There's a giant metal hatch in the center that's impossible to open, and a few research buildings now surround the area. Related: Fortnite’s Air Royale mode brings back planes to the game. The huge metal hatch might hint that whoever worked on that area built an underground structure that's being protected by the hatch. If it's a treasure, it should be pretty big, considering it's protected by such a gigantic structure. And if it's a weapon or tech secret, it should be powerful as well, since it must be safe from outside damage. Unfortunately, this change was terrible for players who like to drop on Loot Lake for their matches. All chests that used to be in that area are now gone, and the entire location has now a bad place to find decent loot in the early game. For Fortnite's storyline, this development can be tied to the end of season eight, since we're approaching that point in the season. The recent leak of an underground event may also be related to it due to the recent history of excavation sites in the Fortnite island, which are the only event taking place.<doc-sep>Fortnite’s latest patch is here, bringing with it new limited-time modes, a long list of gameplay changes, and, more importantly, the ability to pet other people’s pets. Yes, you can now pet the dog. Epic Games added pets to Fortnite Battle Royale this past September, as part of the game’s sixth season. Pets are a variant of back bling; animals like a dog, dragon, or chameleon can sit in your character’s backpack and chill. There really wasn’t much interaction with them, just cute animation and virtual companionship. That changes today with Fortnite patch 8.40, which contains a crucial line item: You can now pet the dog... and other Pets! In practice, however, the “pet” animation is more of a crude swipe or slap, not the kind of gentle rubdown or playful rustle a good dog deserves. Here it is in action: You can now pet other people's pets as of v8.40. pic.twitter.com/z2Xm1Ut1hm — Ben Walker (@bnwkr) April 17, 2019 Here’s another angle, this time from the Twitter account Can You Pet the Dog?, which is enacting real change in the dog-petting video game culture: New: Following an update, you can now pet the dog in Fortnite pic.twitter.com/U1nkfHIHSr — Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) April 17, 2019 Petting dogs and other creatures less deserving of such affection is widely becoming expected in video games, and when games don’t include the option, they are rightly called out by accounts like Can You Pet the Dog? Some games, after being called out by the account, are adding dog-petting in patches. Enter the Gungeon developer Dodge Roll Games recently updated that game to add dog petting as a feature, even after the game’s supposed “final” update. In fact, Epic’s update to Fortnite also appears to be in response to Can You Pet the Dog? bringing attention to the issue recently. You cannot pet the dog in Fortnite pic.twitter.com/g49V1pySFs — Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) April 3, 2019 Hopefully, this is simply the first phase of Epic’s plan to incorporate dog and reptile petting to Fortnite. While the dog-petting animation meets the base requirement of pet interaction, the feature needs to properly expand to include variations, including belly rubs, nuzzles, head pats, and other character animations that would never be cause for litigation.<doc-sep>
The new Infantry Rifles have arrived, and planes are back to some extent. Fortnite: Battle Royale’s v8.40 update is upon us. Epic confirmed yesterday that it was coming this morning, and the company has already turned off the servers for maintenance and released the full patch notes. Players can expect to jump into the game again in a few hours from now, when the servers will be turned back on with the update already implemented. Leaving the Epic Games’ client open should allow them to download the update normally even during the server downtime. The v8.40 update is bringing planes back to Fortnite in a new Limited Time Mode and, fortunately, they'll stay away from the main game modes. Here’s the full list of changes. New Infantry Rifles The long-awaited Epic and Legendary Infantry Rifles have been added to Fortnite in the v8.40 update. They were found in the game files by data miners in season seven, and now they’ve arrived. They deal 42 and 44 damage respectively and can be found from Floor Loot, Chests, Supply Drops and Vending Machines. Air Royale Limited Time Mode The X-4 Stormwing planes are back in Fortnite: Battle Royale. They were vaulted as soon as season eight started, and nobody seemed to miss them. Now that they’re back, at least it’s only for a limited-time mode that players can choose when to play. This game mode called Air Royale was leaked a few days ago by Fortnite data miners, who found evidence of X-4 Storming planes coming back in this kind of environment. Air Royale will start as a Duos-only mode, and players are forced to fly in their Stormwing until they are taken down three times. It's possible to steal someone else's plane and add it to your plane count. Epic made no other big gameplay changes in the v8.40 update, and players should be able to test the game again in a few hours. The full patch notes are available at Epic’s website.