| “ | The stage is yours! In Fortnite Festival, perform hit music by your favorite artists as the crowd cheers you and your bandmates. When you’re not on the Main Stage, mix hit music with other players on the Jam Stage.
|
” |
- — Blog Post Description[1]
Fortnite Festival is a rhythm game developed by Harmonix, that was released within Fortnite on December 9th 2023. It consists of three playlists: the Main Stage[2], the Battle Stage[3], and the Jam Stage[4].
Main Stage[]
On the Main Stage, play Jam Tracks from either the rotating selection or your own collection. Compete against friends for the best performance or team up to climb the leaderboards.
Before joining the Main Stage, you will come across three different pre-made setlists: Daily Vibes, Spotlight Setlist, and Festival Selects. You can also choose to build your own setlist.
Upon joining the Main Stage, you will find yourself Backstage. In the Backstage you will find a Rift in the back and a terminal in the center. Interacting with the terminal will open a menu where you can choose any featured, new, default, or owned Jam Tracks. Each person in the lobby can pick 1-4 Jam Tracks, depending on the amount of players. You may also select your difficulty and instrument backstage. The terminal has a screen that will show the selected playlist and the amount of notes those tracks will have with your selected instrument. Once you are ready to start, you can ready up, and you will be rifted onstage.
On PlayStation and Xbox platforms, up to 4 players can join on the same console for local multiplayer, with each player receiving their own note highway on the screen. Each player must be signed in with their own Epic Games account (which must allow T-rated experiences) and platform account.
For players using specialized guitar controllers from Guitar Hero and Rock Band, they can select the "Pro Lead" or "Pro Bass" instrument options which will feature layouts designed to take advantage of the controllers' capabilities and emulate the gameplay of the aforementioned titles. To be able to select Pro instruments, the "Always Display Pro Parts" must be enabled in settings.
Auras will glow around you when you are on a note streak on the Main Stage.
Each note you play will contribute to your personal score and shared band score. The closer you are to the timing of a note, the more score you will get from that note. Doing better on a song will grant up to 5 stars, with golden stars being given out to those on expert difficulty. There are two types of stars during each track: personal stars and band stars. Personal Stars are given based on your performance. Band Stars are given out based on the performance of everybody onstage.
You will fill your overdrive meter by playing strings of glowing notes without missing any. Each string you complete will fill your overdrive meter 1/4 of the way. Using overdrive will double your personal score multiplier, and add a 2x multiplier to band score for each person using overdrive at once. Overdrive will last a short duration after being used. Overdrive can be lengthened by playing strings of glowing notes while being active.
Sustain notes are special notes that need to be held to receive the full point value. Releasing the note early will not count as a miss, but pressing the button again will enact a strike.
Lift notes are special notes that can be played by either pressing the button or lifting the button. The lift action acts as a normal note in terms of scoring.
If Pro Lead or Pro Bass is selected, lift notes are replaced with "hammer-on" and "pull-off" (HOPO) notes. Whereas regular notes require strumming to be played, HOPOs only require the lane to be tapped as long as there's a note streak active. If there is none, HOPOs can be strummed to start a note streak. In addition, the whammy bar can be used on sustain notes to alter its pitch, although it has no effect on scoring.
Missing or misplaying notes will not deduct score, but you will not receive any score for it. A misplayed note is known as a strike. Missing or striking will reset your personal score multiplier and/or cancel any current overdrive string.
After playing a song, you can see your and your band's scoring. If there is another song, you will be able to change your difficulty and instrument. If there is not another song, you will be shown your challenges and your current amount of XP.
Stage NPCs[]
Since Update v34.30, all favorited Outfits in the Locker can appear as NPCs.
Battle Stage[]
On the Battle Stage, 16 players will perform a playlist of four randomly-selected Jam Tracks in a battle to attain the highest score. Remain on top to avoid elimination at the end of each song.
Upon joining, you and 15 other players will spawn Backstage, where they will find a Rift in the back and an NPC which can calibrate audio and input latency. Players won't be allowed to use the terminal in the center to select songs; rather, the game will randomly select four songs from the daily rotation to create a set list for the players to perform. Players are prompted to choose their instrument and difficulty setting, having a short amount of time to do so before they are rifted onstage.
There are five variants for Battle Stage: All Parts (all instruments can be chosen), Drums Only, Vocals Only, Lead Only, and Bass Only.
In addition to doubling your personal scoring multiplier, activating Overdrive will also launch an attack at a randomly-selected opponent, typically the player in front of you. These attacks partially obscure the note chart on their screen temporarily, and their personal scoring meter will be reduced during this time. If you are in first place, Overdrive will not launch attacks at other players. You can also be affected by an Overdrive attack if an opponent launches one at you.
If you are among the four lowest-scoring players after a song concludes, you will be eliminated from the game. At the end of the final song, you must be the top scorer over your opponents to secure a Victory Royale.
Jam Stage[]
On the Jam Stage, up to 4 people can band together and create a mix of songs. In your emote wheel, you will find a "Jam Tracks" category. In there, you will find your equipped Jam Tracks. You can choose which instrument to play in the emote wheel. Once in a "Jam," you can adjust the key, tempo, and if the jam is in major or minor. You can Emote while jamming; Emotes that are Beat Synced will automatically adjust their speed to the tempo of the jam. The Jam Stage is intended to mash multiple songs together to make a new song.
Players can also start a Jam by themselves. In a solo Jam Circle, three additional plots will appear in front of the player, and they can assign a Jam Loop to one of these plots.
Seasons[]
Main Article: Music Pass 
Season 10 Music Pass[]
Season 10 ran from August 26th 2025 to October 9th 2025 (originally October 14th 2025 and October 10th 2025) (45 Days).
Season 8 Music Pass[]
Season 8 ran from April 8th 2025 to June 18th 2025 (originally June 17th 2025 and June 20th 2025) (71 Days).
Season 6 Music Pass[]
Season 6 ran from November 2nd 2024 to January 14th 2025 (73 Days).
Free Reward Track
The Free Reward Track is available to all players.
The Premium Reward Track can be purchased for 
1,400 V-Bucks, and will grant the LBC '93 Dogg Outfit upon purchasing.
Season 5 Festival Pass[]
Season 5 ran from August 16th 2024 to November 2nd 2024 (78 Days).
Free Reward Track
The Free Reward Track is available to all players.
The Premium Reward Track can be purchased for 1,800 V-Bucks, and will grant the Bichota Season Karol G Outfit upon purchasing.
Bonus Rewards Quests
The Festival Pass Bonus Rewards Quests are available upon completion of the Premium Reward Track. They function as Quests instead of showing up as part of the Festival Pass
Season 4 Festival Pass[]
Season 4 ran from June 13th 2024 to August 16th 2024 (64 Days).
Free Reward Track
The Free Reward Track is available to all players.
The Premium Reward Track can be purchased for 1,800 V-Bucks, and will grant the Lars Ulrich Outfit upon purchasing.
Bonus Rewards Quests
The Festival Pass Bonus Rewards Quests are available upon completion of the Premium Reward Track. They function as Quests instead of showing up as part of the Festival Pass
Season 3 Festival Pass[]
Season 3 ran from April 23rd 2024 to June 13th 2024 (51 Days).
Free Reward Track
The Free Reward Track is available to all players.
The Premium Reward Track can be purchased for 1,800 V-Bucks, and will grant the Green Roots Billie Outfit upon purchasing.
Unlock Your Talent Festival Pass[]
Season 2 ran from February 22nd 2024 to April 23rd 2024 (61 Days).
Free Reward Track
The Free Reward Track is available to all players.
The Premium Reward Track can be purchased for 1,800 V-Bucks, and will grant the Glitch Groove Aura upon purchasing.
Opening Night Festival Pass[]
Season 1 ran from December 9th 2023 to February 22nd 2024 (75 Days).
Free Reward Track
The Free Reward Track is available to all players.
The Premium Reward Track can be purchased for 1,800 V-Bucks, and will grant the Rift Rock Aura upon purchasing.
Updates[]
- Update v28.01: Season 1 began with The Weeknd as headliner.
- Added Fortnite Festival with Main Stage and Jam Stage, along with the Festival Pass and Jam Tracks.
- Update v28.30: Season 2 began with Lady Gaga as headliner.
- Update v29.30: Season 3 began with Billie Eilish as headliner.
- Guitar controller support, Pro Lead, and Pro Bass were added.
- Update v30.00:
- Keyboard/controller support for Pro Lead and Pro Bass were added.
- Jam Tracks can now be used as Lobby Music.
- Update v30.10: Season 4 began with Metallica as headliner.
- Battle Stage was added.
- Engine was updated to improve fret forgiveness (or "coyote time").
- Update v31.00: Season 5 began with Karol G as headliner.
- The note highway was updated to run at 120 FPS instead of 60.
- Update v32.00: Season 6 began with Snoop Dogg as headliner.
- Festival Pass was rebranded to Music Pass, with progression being relegated to XP instead of Festival Points.
- The song's timer was added at the bottom left of the screen.
- Update v33.00:
- Music Pass was included in Fortnite Crew.
- Update v33.20: Season 7 began with Hatsune Miku as headliner.
- Local multiplayer was added for PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
- Music Pass was updated to have a single rewards track to be in line with other Fortnite Crew passes.
- The song's information was added to the bottom left of the screen.
- Instruments can now be equipped as pickaxes and back blings.
- Single-instrument modes for Battle Stage were added.
- Update v34.30: Season 8 began with Sabrina Carpenter as headliner.
- New calibration settings were added.
- Favorited outfits in the player's Locker can now appear as bandmates on stage.
- Update v34.40:
- Players can now start a Jam of four instruments by themselves.
- Update v35.20:
- Replaced Jam Stage with Dance With Sabrina.
- Update v36.10: Season 9 began with Bruno Mars as headliner.
- Replaced Dance With Sabrina with Jam Stage.
- All-time leaderboards were reinstated, allowing players to view their scores from past seasons.
- In the Lobby, picking "Random" will now play a new Jam Track right after the previous one ends instead of repeating.
- Update v37.10: Season 10 began with Gorillaz as headliner.
- "Good" judgements are now shown; they can be toggled off.
- Lift notes were adjusted to better show when to press and let go; this can be toggled off.
- Songs in Main Stage can now be sorted by duration or intensity.
- Update v37.31:
- Revamped Main Stage to now present a selection of three pre-made setlists before joining alongside the player's choice.
- Spotlight effects were added for Dance Emotes.
- Update v37.50: Season 11 began without a headliner, due to it being a "Mixtape" season.
- Spotlight effects were enabled for Jam Loops.
- Added option to start Jam Loops on a downbeat or pickup, rather than a standard beat or pickup.
Trivia[]
- Fortnite Festival was first teased during The Big Bang live event.
- Fortnite Festival was the last of the modes to release after the launch of Chapter 5, following LEGO Fortnite and Rocket Racing.
- As of October 5th 2025, Fortnite Festival is Harmonix's only available title, after Rock Band 4 and its DLC were delisted from digital storefronts due to expiring music licenses.
- Similar to prior Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles, specialized guitar controllers were produced for Fortnite Festival, which was the PDP Riffmaster and the CRKD x Gibson Les Paul controller.
- Data for unreleased "Pro Drums" and "Pro Vocals" instrument modes can be found within the files for Jam Tracks.
- Pro Drums charts were first uncovered in mid-2024, while Pro Vocals charts were first uncovered in April 2025.
- Existing Jam Tracks have been periodically updated with data for Pro Vocals, hinting at its release at a later date.
- Some UI concepts that were released in 2024 include songs and albums that are either currently unreleased, scrapped, or had slight alterations for Fortnite Festival.[5] These include:
- WANNABE by itzy.
- The Ballad Of Mona Lisa by Panic! At The Disco.
- DUU-DU DDUI-DU by Black Pink.
- Shut Down by Black Pink.
- THE PLANET by BTS.
- Leona by Millencolin.
- The Number Of The Beast by Iron Maiden.
- Pink Venom by Black Pink.
- Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (using the original album art from Nevermind).
- The album art for Flower Boy by Tyler, The Creator.
- The album art for Pretty. Odd. by Panic! At The Disco.
- The album art for London Calling by The Clash.
- The single cover for ENTWURF by NMIXX.
- The album art for The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance.
- The single cover for Song 2 by Blur (compared to the in-game version using the art for Blur: The Best Of).
- The album art for The Now Now by Gorillaz.
- The single cover for Cracker Island by Gorillaz ft. Thundercat.
- The album art for Leisure by Blur.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Main Stage
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Main Stage (Unlock Your Talent) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (907 KB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.png "Festival Main Stage (Season 3) - Playlist - Fortnite.png (2.14 MB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Main Stage (Season 4) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (898 KB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Main Stage (C5S4) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (1.08 MB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.png "Festival Main Stage (Season 6) - Playlist - Fortnite.png (716 KB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Main Stage (Season 7) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (1.44 MB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Main Stage (Season 8) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (1.74 MB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Main Stage (Season 9) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (264 KB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Main Stage (Season 10) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (456 KB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Main Stage (Season 11) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (359 KB)")
Battle Stage
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Battle Stage (Season 4) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (1.92 MB)")
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Battle Stage (v35.10) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (215 KB)")
Jam Stage
_-_Playlist_-_Fortnite.jpg "Festival Jam Stage (Dance With Sabrina) - Playlist - Fortnite.jpg (134 KB)")
Other Cover Art
_-_Cover_Art_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Season 8 (Alt) - Cover Art - Fortnite Festival.jpg (405 KB)")
Other
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite Festival (The Weekend) - Promo - Fortnite.jpg (301 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release (01) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (227 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release (02) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (156 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release (03) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (243 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release (04) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (194 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite Festival (Lady Gaga - Teaser) - Promo - Fortnite.jpg (119 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite.jpg "Fortnite Festival (Lady Gaga) - Promo - Fortnite.jpg (1.21 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite.png "Fortnite Festival (Billie Eilish - Teaser) - Promo - Fortnite.png (2.74 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (01) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (2.53 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (02) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (3.24 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (03) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (1.74 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (04) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (2.05 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (05) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (2.04 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (06) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (2.45 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (07) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (2.13 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (08) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (2.47 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (09) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (2.17 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.jpg "Release Screenshot (10) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.jpg (2.42 MB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.png "Poster (1) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.png (470 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.png "Poster (2) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.png (517 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.png "Poster (3) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.png (488 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.png "Poster (4) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.png (655 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.png "Poster (5) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.png (453 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.png "Poster (6) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.png (446 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.png "Poster (7) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.png (431 KB)")
_-_Promo_-_Fortnite_Festival.png "Poster (8) - Promo - Fortnite Festival.png (495 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ https://www.fortnite.com/news/take-your-stage-in-fortnite-festival
- ↑ https://www.fortnite.com/@epic/festival-main-stage
- ↑ https://www.fortnite.com/@epic/festival-battle-stage?lang=en-US
- ↑ https://www.fortnite.com/@epic/festival-jam-stage
- ↑ https://www.behance.net/gallery/193899459/Fortnite-Festival?tracking_source=project_owner_other_projects