Fortnite is an online multiplayer game developed by Epic Games that released on July 25th, 2017.
It is currently available on Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, and iOS. The game is available for cloud streaming on GeForce NOW, Amazon Luna, or Xbox Cloud Gaming. The game currently runs on Unreal Engine 5.8 as of version v39.00.
The in-game currency used for the game is 
V-Bucks.
Development
Fortnite was announced as Save the World at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards. The first concept of Fortnite was during a Game Jam and would be a horror survival game. Fortnite, at the time was described as "a world where you explore, you scavenge, you build and ultimately you survive."
Due to several issues and delays with development, Epic Games director Rod Fergusson was considering cancelling Fortnite. Fergusson left Epic Games in 2012 and development continued on Fortnite.
When development began, Fortnite was being built on the Unreal Engine 3 as it would transition to UE4 when Early Access began. In late 2014, the first round of Save the World's Alpha began which were known as online tests. These tests, whilst given out via invite emails, were under a non-disclosure-agreement (NDA) meaning very few videos, and images exist of these online tests although livestreams of online tests 2-11 were shown by Epic Games. A video released from around the online test era showcased gameplay from around that time[1] As of 2023, only Online Test 6.5 and parts of Online Test 10.1 have been found.
As development progressed, more heroes and features were added. The conceptual idea of gathering resources in the environment and building a fort to combat the husk pathing remained the same, with new weapons and tools to help players combat the husks.
On July 21st 2017, Fortnite released in "Head Start Access" only to players who had previously pre-ordered a Founder's Pack or received one from an invite through a friend. The game later released on July 25th 2017 as an Early Access game to players that didn't pre-order. A Campaign was added to the game and it got a major UI overhaul for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The idea of lootboxes were added as Llama Piñatas could give random resources. More missions were added and expanded on as well, as Epic continued to experiment and add new ideas such as Weapon Perks and the Hero Loadout Update in Season 8.
After the release of Fortnite: Save the World, a side project started for a separate Battle Royale mode. On September 12th 2017, Fortnite: Battle Royale was released for public testing to players who had purchased a Founder's Pack for Save the World. On September 26th 2017, Battle Royale was released as a free-to-play game, and the first official season started on October 25th 2017. The release of Battle Royale was a critical success and Fortnite went on to be one the most popular video games, with development of the original game mode Save the World eventually slowing down due to the decrease in popularity opposed to the other mode.
On December 2nd 2023, the Big Bang in-game live event took place, in which players were shown previews of upcoming gamemodes, LEGO Fortnite, Rocket Racing and Fortnite Festival.
The initial LEGO® Fortnite launch announcement was made on December 2nd 2023, with the game going live inside Fortnite on December 7th 2023, as a new survival-crafting game within Fortnite. This marked the first outcome of the long-term partnership between The LEGO Group and Epic Games to create fun, safe digital experiences for families. The original game was later renamed "LEGO Fortnite Odyssey" in December 2024, and the overall "LEGO Fortnite" experience in Fortnite was refreshed to become a central hub for all LEGO-related content, including a new social roleplay game LEGO Fortnite Brick Life, which launched on December 12th 2024.
Fortnite Festival launched on December 9th 2023, as a rythm/music game within the Fortnite platform, featuring hit music and artist collaborations like The Weeknd for Season 1 and Gorillaz for Season 10. The game mode was developed by Harmonix, the creators of Rock Band.
Rocket Racing launched on December 8th 2023, as an arcade racing experience, developed by Psyonix, the creator of Rocket League. Players can race rocket-powered cars on various tracks within the Fortnite environment, using car bodies and cosmetics they own from Rocket League. The initial launch included 26 tracks, with plans for future modes, including a speedrun time trial and a track editor, to be released in 2024.
On June 22nd 2024, a new game mode called "Fortnite Reload" was announced as a new action-packed Battle Royale mode with "classic weapons, classic locations, and classic vibes". In Reload, Players have a total of three lives and would be "rebooted" (respawn) as long as their team was standing. Reload received biweekly updates, with the loot pool refreshed regularly to keep gameplay feeling fresh. On November 2nd 2024, a new map called "Oasis" was released, being based on the Chapter-1 desert biome. On June 24th 2025, Epic Games collaborated with Netflix to bring forth a Squid Games-themed map called "Squid Grounds".
On November 30th 2024, Epic Games teased "Fortnite OG" as a permanent game mode which would later launch on December 6th 2024. The mode would cycle through the original Chapter 1 seasons, starting with Season 1. In OG, players can access the original Chapter 1 map and gameplay in both Battle Royale and Zero Build variants, with a new OG season and battle pass appearing every 2-3 months. This mode incorporated modern features like sprinting and mantling, while also bringing back classic items and gameplay.
On December 7th 2024, Fortnite: Ballistic was announced as an upcoming first-person, tactical 5v5 competitive game mode that would launch in early access on December 11th 2024. In Ballistic, players work together to either plant a "Rift Point Device" or stop the other team from doing so in a round-based format, utilizing a credit system to purchase weapons and gear. At launch, it featured a single map, Skyline, with more maps planned, and supports existing Fortnite Outfits, Emotes and Wraps. Multiple adjustments, balance changes and updates were made over the course of early-2025, with "shell maps" being introduced later.
On June 18th 2025, a live-action trailer was released for Fortnite's upcoming game mode, "Blitz Royale". Launching on the same day as a limited-time, fast-paced Battle Royale mode for all platforms, Blitz Royale was designed with a focus on quick, smaller-map rounds for 32 players. The mode featured a unique progression system (similar to Ranks in SUPER) where players leveled up their "Blitz Level" to unlock powerful loot, starting with a random medallion and a choice of Mythic weapons. Blitz Royale included a rotating schedule of weekly updates with themed content from other franchises, like the Avatar: The Last Airbender and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and featured its own free cosmetic rewards for participating in challenges and achieving high placements. Originally planned as a four-week only LTM, Blitz Royale was then made permanent following overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Main Gamemodes
Main Article: Fortnite: Save the World 
Save the World takes place in a world where The Storm, an entity, has wiped out 98% of the population and spawns in Husks and Mist Monsters to attack the living. Homebase recruits you, the Commander to lead heroes into battle and expand the Storm Shield to take back the world from the Storm.
Build giant forts, and/or fight hordes of monsters through various missions. Craft weapons, train heroes and survivors, and level them up to fight harder and more challenging Monsters. Progress through the 3-Zone Campaign and various Limited Time Missions and Questlines every venture season. Perk your weapons to your liking and complete quests to earn banners that show off your hard work.
Save the World is only available on Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Battle Royale (C7S1) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (401 KB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Zero Build (C7S1) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (464 KB)")
Battle Royale is a mode where 100 players drop from the Battle Bus into the Island, competing in Solo, Duos, Trios, or Squads. Matches last around 22 minutes, with the goal of being the last player or team standing to earn a Victory Royale.
Players can harvest materials like Wood, Stone, and Metal from the environment to build structures. Loot can be discovered across the map, including Weapons, Items, and Consumables, with higher rarities providing stronger equipment.
Survival requires awareness of The Storm, which shrinks the safe zone over time; staying outside it deals increasingly more damage as zones pass.
The mode also features its own evolving lore. A variant without building, known as Zero Build, is available alongside the core Battle Royale experience.
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpeg "Unreal Editor (After GDC 2024) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpeg (301 KB)")
Creative is a game mode where up to 16 players can build their own islands or explore those made by others. In this mode, players can customize server settings, place prebuilt structures from Battle Royale, use prefabs and galleries (collections of assets from various Battle Royale structures), set up devices (such as traps, timers, spawners, vehicles, etc), and access items and weapons from other modes, including some that are otherwise vaulted.
Unreal Editor for Fortnite (aka UEFN) allows Creators to use tools from the Unreal Engine to create more advanced experiences in Creative. UEFN supports the ability to import custom assets and materials, generate fully custom landscapes, create complex animations, making custom NPCs, and much more.
The Unreal Editor also supports coding through Verse, an advanced and constantly-evolving programming language, to allow creators to design their games in a more advanced way.
Main Article: LEGO Fortnite:Odyssey 
LEGO® Fortnite Odyssey is a survival sandbox in which your objective is to explore a vast procedurally generated landscape, collect resources, craft items, battle enemies and recruit villagers to ultimately make your own village filled with Fortnite characters. Players have the option of doing this by themselves or with up to seven friends.
The game consists of two different modes: Survival, where players have to work to survive, gather resources and defend themselves; and Sandbox, where players receive infinite resources and have the ability to fly.
Main Article: LEGO Fortnite:Brick Life 
LEGO® Fortnite Brick Life is an open-world social game. In the city of Brick Bay, players can control their Fortnite minifigures to hang out with other players - while also being able to work jobs, earn credits, and drive around in various vehicles- among other activities.
Main Article: Rocket Racing 
Rocket Racing is an arcade racer in which up to 12 players race against each other in rocket-powered cars on a variety of tracks filled with various obstacles and shortcuts. Players have the option of racing in ranked or private (unranked) races, whether with friends or by themselves.
Main Article: Fortnite Festival 
Fortnite Festival is a rhythm game in which up to 4 players perform Jam Tracks by timing button presses to hit notes at the right time. Players have the option to perform vocals, lead guitar/keytar, bass, and drums.
The game consists of three different modes: Main Stage, where players perform a set list of their choice; Battle Stage, a competitive mode pitting 16 players against each other in a scoring battle; and Jam Stage, where players can combine different parts of a track to create a new song.
Main Article: Fortnite: Reload _-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Reload (Surf City - 03) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (1.65 MB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Reload (Surf City - Zero Build - 02) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (1.66 MB)")
Main Article: Fortnite: OG 
Fortnite OG is a Battle Royale and Zero Build game mode set in Chapter 1, on the Island Athena. It is designed as a recreation of the Chapter 1 seasons, bringing back classic loot pools, map updates, and past live events. Setting itself on an “OG” season, it is currently set in Season 7.
Main Article: Fortnite: Ballistic 
Ballistic is a first-person tactical shooter pitting two teams of five players against each other. One team is on the attack, in which they must plant a Rift Point Device and eliminate the opposing team, while the defending team has to stop them.
System Requirements
| System Part | Minimum Specifications | Recommended Specifications | Epic Quality Presets Specifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPU | Intel HD 4000 on PC; AMD Radeon Vega 8 | Nvidia GTX 960, AMD R9 280, or equivalent DX11 GPU | Nvidia RTX 3070, AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, or equivalent GPU |
| Video Memory | None | 16 GB RAM or higher | 8 GB VRAM or higher |
| CPU | Intel Core i3-3225 3.3 GHz | Core i5-7300U 3.5 GHz, AMD Ryzen 3 3300U, or equivalent | Intel Core i7-8700, AMD Ryzen 7 3700x or equivalent |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM or higher | 16 GB RAM or higher |
| Storage | None | NVMe Solid State Drive | NVMe Solid State Drive |
| Operating System | Windows 10 64-bit version 1703 | Windows 10/11 64-bit | Windows 10/11 64-bit |
| System Part | UE 5.1 Nanite Minimum Specifications | UE 5.1 Nanite Recommended Specifications |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | NVIDIA: Maxwell-generation cards or newer (GTX 9xx) AMD: GCN-generation cards or newer (RX 2xx) |
NVIDIA: GeForce RTX 2080 or newer AMD: Radeon RX 5700 or newer |
| Operating System | Windows 10/11 64-bit | Windows 10/11 64-bit |
History
Pre-Release
- Fortnite (Save the World), was first announced at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards. A prototype of the game was developed which was shown in another gameplay trailer[2][3]
- In April 2014, Fortnite: Save the World's closed Alpha sign-ups began[4] and the game was revealed to be aimed towards a free-to-play model.[5]
- In December 2014, the first round of Fortnite: Save the World's Alpha began.[6]
- In March 2015, the second round of the Alpha began.[7]
- In Fall 2015, Fortnite: Save the World was announced to be compatible with Mac computers, and the closed Beta phase began.[8]
Post-Release
- Fortnite: Save the World became available for Early Access on Windows, Mac, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for those who pre-ordered the game on July 21, 2017, and on July 25, 2017 for those who did not pre-order.[9]
- Fortnite: Battle Royale was released as a separate mode of Fortnite on September 12th, 2017 for those who purchased a Save The World founders pack, and became free to play on September 26, 2017.[10]
- Fortnite released on iOS devices on March 12, 2018.
- Save the World was set to become free-to-play sometime in 2018, delayed again in 2019, and then on June 30th 2020, it was announced that Save the World would not go free to play, and instead would remain a "premium experience".[9]
- Fortnite became available for Early Access for the Nintendo Switch on June 12, 2018.
- Fortnite was released on NVIDIA Shield TV, an Android-based platform, on July 12, 2018.[11] No other announcements about Android releases were made at this time.
- Fortnite for Android Beta was released on August 9, 2018 to owners of Samsung mobile devices, and more devices were officially supported over time.
- Fortnite: Creative was released on December 6, 2018 as the third game mode of Fortnite.
- Fortnite was considered officially released and out of "Early Access" on June 30, 2020.
- Fortnite for iOS and macOS got officially blocked from the App Store on August 13, 2020 and users who still have Fortnite installed on their Apple devices can continue to play it, but are stuck in Chapter 2: Season 3 (Update v13.40 to be exact). Save the World was shut down on macOS shortly after the discontinuation of Fortnite on Apple devices. Users can still use all their cosmetics and can still purchase items from the item shop on iOS/macOS, but are limited to cosmetics that were introduced prior to version 14.00.
- With the Digital Markets Act being enforced in European Union countries in March 6th, 2024, Fortnite for iOS is expected to be re-released only in the EU.
- Fortnite was released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 12th 2020.
- New graphical enhancements were added for the next gen consoles, but later released on the PC version in v17.00. [12]
- Haptic Feedback was added for the PlayStation DualSense Controller.
- PlayStation 5 users could load directly into Battle Royale via a unique option.
- The Fortnite game engine was updated from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5 on December 5th 2021 (v19.00).
- Fortnite: Zero Build was released as a permanent alternative to the classic Battle Royale on March 20th 2022 (v20.00).
- The engine was upgraded to Unreal Engine 5.1 on December 3, 2022 (v23.00), adding support for virtualized geometry and ray-traced global illumination for even higher visual fidelity.
- An update to Fortnite: Creative, known as "Unreal Editor for Fortnite" or "UEFN", was released on March 22nd, 2023, and it allows players to create their own creative maps with extra abilities via the Unreal Editor toolset.
- On September 8, 2023, Chief Creative Officer Donald Mustard announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he would be leaving Epic Games after 7 years saying, "I am especially proud of the opportunity I’ve had to help create and shape 'Fortnite'".[13]
- Fortnite was returned to the U.S. App Store on May 20th 2025 following legal victories for Epic Games in Epic Games v. Apple.
Gallery
Cover Art
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_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Update v36.10) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (1.39 MB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Update v36.00) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (1.36 MB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Galactic Battle) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (1.58 MB)")
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_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Update v33.11) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (1.32 MB)")
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_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 4 Season OG) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (984 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 4 Season 4) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (183 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Break the Curse!) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (342 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 4 Season 3) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (248 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Find The Force) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (852 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 4 Season 2) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (208 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 4 Season 1) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (523 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.png "Fortnite (Chapter 3 Finale) - Cover Art - Fortnite.png (2.29 MB)")
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_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 2 Season 8) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (1.04 MB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 2 Season 7) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (139 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 2 Season 6) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (1.33 MB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 2 Season 5) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (431 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.png "Fortnite (Chapter 2 Season 4) - Cover Art - Fortnite.png (583 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 2 Season 3) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (394 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 2 Season 2) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (319 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Chapter 2 Season 1) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (596 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.png "Fortnite (Season 9) - Cover Art - Fortnite.png (1.03 MB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.png "Fortnite (Season 8) - Cover Art - Fortnite.png (971 KB)")
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite (Season 7) - Cover Art - Fortnite.jpg (359 KB)")
Logos
References
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3z1Gkud9Cc&t
- ↑ Spike TV Announces 2011 “Video Game Awards” Winners
- ↑ Epic Games Reveals Cartoony New IP Fortnite
- ↑ Fortnite alpha signups are now open
- ↑ Gears of War dev's Fortnite has Diablo-like looting
- ↑ Epic Games kicks off Fortnite alpha on Dec. 2
- ↑ Fortnite kicks off second closed alpha with a livestream this afternoon
- ↑ Epic's Fortnite coming to Mac, beta hits this fall
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Fortnite Early Access has started for those who pre-ordered Founder’s Packs
- ↑ Tweet by @Fortnite
- ↑ https://twitter.com/NVIDIASHIELD/status/1017463526720458752
- ↑ [1] Day 1 Ready: Fortnite Arrives Next Week ON Xbox Series X|S And PS5
- ↑ Tweet by @DonaldMustard
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| Save the World Fortnite: Save the World |
Battle Royale Fortnite: Battle Royale |
Creative Fortnite: Creative (UEFN) |
LEGO Fortnite LEGO Fortnite | ||||||||||
| Rocket Racing Rocket Racing |
Fortnite Festival Fortnite Festival | ||||||||||||
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