When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor the biggest new releases, reviews and tech hacks Fortnite Season 8 is going live tomorrow, Thursday, February 28, across consoles, PCs and Mac. The Fortnite season 8 release date was revealed with Epic Games’ first Twitter teaser for the new Battle Pass. And gamers can potentially expect a pirate theme, with the teaser referencing treasure, loot and 'X marks the spot' and a sinister serpent-like creature. When is Fortnite going offline for Season 8? Ahoy, mateys! Season 8 approaches and X marks the spot! Downtime begins tomorrow at 9.00am GMT Fortnite developer Epic Games’ has confirmed their servers will go offline at 9.00am GMT (4.00am ET) to prepare for the start of the new season. And downtime will most likely last between three and four hours. Epic also warned Fortnite fans that the patch size will be larger than normal updates. Gamers will be free to explore the new map and Battle Pass as usual after this period. Judging by previous seasons, this one should last for ten weeks – meaning Season 8 will likely be with us until Thursday 9 May. And Season 9 could well begin immediately afterwards.<doc-sep>Fortnite offer FREE Battle Pass with Overtime Challenges FREE for the biggest new releases, reviews and tech hacks SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up forfor the biggest new releases, reviews and tech hacks When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. FORTNITE SEASON 8 - UPDATE ONE: Fortnite season 8 is set to launch soon, with the start time for the new Battle Pass fast approaching. Servers are going down at 9am UK time ahead of the rollout of Fortnite season 8 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, PCs and Macs. Ahead of the Fortnite season 8 launch skins for the new Battle Pass were allegedly leaked on the Xbox dashboard. Fortnite fans can check out a picture of the leaked Fortnite season 8 skins - posted online by leaker @lucas7yoshi_ - below. ORIGINAL: Fortnite season 8 is almost here, with the release date bringing with it new skins, a fresh theme, map changes and weekly challenges for Battle Royale. These past few days Epic Games have been teasing what’s coming with Fortnite season 8 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, PCs and Macs. And the new Battle Pass looks set to bring huge changes, with long-rumoured updates likely to finally appear during Fortnite season 8. Ahead of the season 8 Battle Pass launch Express.co.uk has rounded up everything Fortnite fans need to know. Fortnite season 8 COUNTDOWN - Release date, start time, skins, leaks, map, servers We have details on the latest Fortnite season 8 leaks, skins rumours and info on possible map changes for Battle Royale. If you’re wondering what the start time for Fortnite season 8 is and whether there will be server downtime then Express.co.uk has you covered. We also have details on the final earthquake times as well as the Leviathan, cracken, dragon and volcano rumours for Fortnite season 8. Plus, if you’re curious about what the rumoured pirate theme could mean for Fortnite season 8 then we’re here to help. Fortnite season 8 - Skins for the new Battle Pass leaked ahead of the release date FORTNITE SEASON 8 - WHAT IS THE FORTNITE SEASON 8 RELEASE DATE? WHEN IS THE FORTNITE SEASON 8 START TIME? Fortnite season 8 has a release date of Thursday February 28 2019, Epic Games has revealed. The first Fortnite season 8 teaser, which was unveiled on Sunday, confirmed the Fortnite season 8 release date. Currently there's an in-game hourly countdown showing how much time is left until the current Battle Pass finishes. And that puts Fortnite season 7 ending at 7am UK time on Thursday February 28. For those in the States that will be 2am eastern time on February 28 and 11pm pacific time on February 27. Fortnite patch 8.0.0 is then set to rollout from 9am UK time, which is 4am eastern and 1am pacific time. FORTNITE SEASON 8 - WHAT ARE THE SKINS FOR FORTNITE SEASON 8? HAVE THERE BEEN ANY SKINS LEAKS? It has been claimed that the patch notes for Fortnite season 8 were leaked early. GamingIntel said they received images allegedly showing the Fortnite season 8 patch notes that accidentally went live early for a short period of time. And the alleged Fortnite season 8 leaked patch notes claims the new Battle Pass will launch with six customisable skins. Having six customisable skins would be a big jump from the two starter skins that typically launch with brand new Battle Passes. Fortnite season 8 - The new Battle Pass looks set to have a pirate theme GamingIntel said they “cannot officially verify the legitimacy of this image” but it does “feature some connotations of being real”. It remains to be seen what skins come with the Fortnite season 8 Battle Pass, but we do know for certain one outfit that's launching during it. Last week the IKONIK skin - which is only available with purchases of the Samsung Galaxy S10+ - was revealed. The new Samsung flagship is getting released in March, meaning the IKONIK skin is the first cosmetic launching during season 8 to be officially revealed. Fortnite season 8 - Epic Games have been busy teasing Fortnite season 8 for the past few days FORTNITE SEASON 8 - HAVE THERE BEEN ANY SEASON 8 LEAKS? WHAT COULD THE THEME OF THE BATTLE PASS BE? The alleged leaked Fortnite season 8 patch notes claimed the new Battle Pass would kick off with a huge earthquake. The Fortnite season 8 patch notes allegedly said: “Stand your ground! “Season 8 begins as a devastating earthquake tears apart the island. “Discover what’s changed in locations like Tilted Towers and Polar Peak, and venture underground in newly exposed areas! “Check out the new Battle Pass and further customise your experience with unlockable lobby backgrounds while unlocking new styles for all six customisable skins.” Fortnite season 8 - The new Battle Pass could see the Leviathan or dragons appear Fortnite season 8 has long been rumoured to kick off with a major earthquake that brings huge changes to the Battle Royale map. And while that could still be the case, the Fortnite season 8 teasers that officially have been revealed by Epic Games have hinted at a pirate theme. The Fortnite season 8 teasers have hinted at a pirate theme and the addition of ships as a new vehicle as well as a new volcano location. The teasers have also hinted that the Fortnite Leviathan or the Fortnite cracken could be coming with Fortnite season 8. Fortnite season 8 - The final teaser hinted at the incoming arrival of bananas The Fortnite Leviathan has long been rumoured to be coming to Battle Royale, and could be the dragon-like creature seen in the third Fortnite season 8 teaser. While the serpent-like creature seen in Fortnite season 8 teaser 2 may be the head of the Fortnite cracken leakers previously discovered proof of. A kraken is usually a huge octopus-like creature found in the sea, but the different spelling may indicate it could be a re-imagining from Epic. Either the Fortnite cracken or Fortnite Leviathan may turn out to be the focus of the rumoured boss battle that players could face in season 8. The final Fortnite season 8 teaser has hinted at the arrival of bananas while all four teasers join together to show an image of a skull over a volcano. Fortnite season 8 - This is what all Fortnite season 8 teasers look like when joined up FORTNITE SEASON 8 - WILL THERE BE ANY MAP CHANGES? WHAT NEW LOCATIONS COULD GET ADDED? The Fortnite map looks set to see some big changes with Fortnite season 8. One of the teasers for Fortnite season 8 hinted at the addition of a volcano while another teased that ships could added to Battle Royale. If that’s the case then maybe the earthquakes that have been happening have all been leading up to a huge one that will break up the map. This could divide the current Fortnite map into lots of islands, with waterways in-between that ships could travel through. Fortnite season 8 - Earthquakes have been hitting the Battle Royale map It’s also been rumoured that Fortnite season 8 could see the addition of a new location called Sharky Shrubs and another temple POI. While Wailing Woods has also, in the run up to Fortnite season 8, been decaying - with rumours it could be replaced with the volcano or a jungle. Ahead of the start of Fortnite season 8 one final earthquake occurred at around 8.20pm UK time on Wednesday February 27. This ended up destroying the unlucky building in Tilted Towers, which was first damaged back in season 4 and has since then kept being rebuilt and then damaged again and again. Fortnite season 8 - Could the mysterious cracken appear during the new Battle Pass? FORTNITE SEASON 8 - WILL THERE BE SERVER DOWNTIME? WHAT TIME WILL FORTNITE GO DOWN AT?<doc-sep>Fortnite Season 8 is almost here. There’s a lot we don’t know — most things, really — but the long wait will be over soon. If you can’t stand the anticipation or the requisite server downtime, we’re here to speculate so you’ll be mildly less bored. It worked for us. If Fortnite’s snowy Season 7 felt like it was dragging on through winter, things look to be warming up and melting out. Epic’s hinting makes it pretty clear that Season 8 will be a maritime adventure of some kind, swapping abominable snowmen for… pirates. There have been other watery clues though in recent days those expanded on what we assumed to be a marine theme of some kind, suggesting the map may soon be crawling with sea-faring marauders. If you combine the four pieces of an image teaser for the new season, you’ll clearly see a skull-looking situation with a hook hand on the right side and a… dragon-like creature (viper? scaly dude?) on the left. Below those images there’s a more clear dragon/monster creature and um, a freaked out looking banana. Because Fortnite. 'X' Marks The Spot Treasure abound Loot that has been lost Can always be found. 4 days to Season 8. pic.twitter.com/1U8n7x4pQQ — Fortnite (@FortniteGame) February 24, 2019 Here's the complete image of all four Season 8 teasers! #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/JLM952boz8 — Fortnite News – fnbr.news (@FortniteBR) February 27, 2019 Update: According to an Xbox leak, that right-side dragon creature actually could be a tiger mask that’s one of three featured Season 8 skins. Unfortunately, that tiger skin is so sweet I’ll probably have to play continuously until I get it, even though this game and I are on a break right now. The red background and shape under the figures is distinctly lava-inspired, so we’re expecting a volcanic and or tectonic event to impact the map in some way that’s probably going to be centered around Wailing Woods, which has become brown, fissure-ridden and crispy in the last few days. Then again, dragons can also make things pretty brown and crispy… as could a volcano full of dragons. And of course there’s the mystery of the dragon eggs below the castle made of ice. Will they turn out to be related to Season 8’s map transformation? Maybe, maybe not! Beyond the thematic elements, Fortnite players should also expect some kind of new mass server-wide live event to whisk them into the fresh season. Some people think this will be a volcanic monster with billions of HP that everyone has to take down across servers, and given the scaled imagery and impending volcano situation, that’s as good a guess as any. Beyond pirates, dragons, volcanoes and assorted oceanic stuff, we don’t really know what else to expect yet, but knowing Epic’s penchant for maximalism, it’ll probably be, well, epic. One thing we do know: You should take one last joyride in the clouds because planes are set to be vaulted. Maybe players will be flying dragons this time tomorrow — that’s fine! Fly whatever you want, fly it in your banana suit, just please, please lock the plane noise in the vault for good.<doc-sep>
Thanks to the usual series of visual teasers released by Epic Games on Twitter, we already know that Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 8 kicks off on Thursday, February 28. But what time exactly? According to the active in-game countdown that appears above the Season 7 battle pass, Season 7 is scheduled to end right around 2 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, February 28, 2019. Usually, downtime for the installation of each new season begins at 4 a.m. with the next season going live around 90 minutes later. These precise times do vary on occasion, especially when it comes to the transition between seasons. It’s possible that Season 7 will end at 2 a.m., Epic will take down the servers starting at 4 a.m., and Season 8 could go live right around 5:30 or 6 a.m. Update: Epic Games confirmed Wednesday afternoon that server downtime would indeed begin at 4 a.m.. Fortnite Intel reports that based on a PlayStation Store event listing, the season starts at 4 a.m. on Thursday, lasting until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7. Does the season really start at 4 a.m.? Fortnite Intel Similar, previous images taken from the PlayStation Store by Fortnite Intel have proven correct in the past, but 68 days sounds awfully short for a Fortnite season. These seasons also never seem to end at night, as Epic Games prefers to install all updates, including seasonal ones, in the early hours of the morning. That being said, any hardcore Fortnite players looking to jump into Season 8 as soon as humanly possible should set their alarms for 3:59 a.m. on Thursday morning just to be on the safe side — — assuming Epic Games doesn’t make any official announcement in the next 36 hours or so. And if the FortniteSeason 8 start time is a little later than expected, you can always play Apex Legends or Anthem for a couple hours while monitoring the Fortnite Twitter account while they wait for Season 8. Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 8 begins Thursday, February 28 at some point early in the morning.