Fortnite players will assemble to battle Dr Doom before the Avengers take a crack at him in the future.
As widely expected, the ever-evolving multiplayer game’s next seasonal update will revolve around Marvel’s superheroes and supervillains.
The new theme, which will bring massive changes to the game’s map, was revealed at Disney’s D23 fan event over the weekend, along with a trailer that you can watch above.
Fortnite livestreamed the show for players to watch while they danced and sprinted around a custom-made virtual arena.
Here’s what you need to know about Fortnite Chapter 5, Season 4 (aka Absolute Doom), including its all-important release date.
When is Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 4 coming out?
Hot on the heels of Fortnite’s latest update, which brought fast travel to Lego Fortnite, Epic Games has announced when the multiplayer game’s current season (known as Wrecked) will conclude.
Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 3 will end on August 15 at 11pm ET. Due to the time difference between the UK and the US east coast, that equates to an early morning end time of 4am on August 16 for Brits.
📢 Heads up everyone, it's almost time!
— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) August 7, 2024
Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 3 now ends on August 15th at 11 PM ET, and we’ll go into maintenance for v31.00 shortly after.
To gas through the finish line, all players will have their next three levels of XP Supercharged from August 13th at… pic.twitter.com/CdKGzpt4kD
Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 4 should therefore kick off a few hours later on August 16 for everyone, following downtime for the game.
How long will Fortnite be down for?
Fortnite will be unplayable during this time because its servers will be taken offline.
Let’s hope the update doesn’t take as long to implement as it did at the start of Chapter 5, Season 2 in March, when the game went down for almost 18 hours. Last time, the lights were out for a more bearable five hours.
What is the new season about?
In the wake of the blockbuster success of Deadpool and Wolverine, the next iteration of Fortnite will reintroduce players to Marvel’s Victor Von Doom, better known by his menacing sobriquet, Dr Doom.
Every place has a story. And every story is undiscovered… for now 😉
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) August 12, 2024
Help us out @Marvel? pic.twitter.com/WaDrhm06BF
Building on the record-breaking success of Fortnite OG, which saw the return of the classic Chapter 1 map from 2018, the game’s next season is also primed to be an epic throwback.
Chapter 5 Season 4 is titled Absolute Doom and will feature characters from the pages of X-Men, the Avengers, and Spider-Man, among other long-running comic books. The trailer features an exhaustive array of heroes and villains, including Cyclops, Jubilee, War Machine, Cable, Rogue, Colossus, Emma Frost, Mysterio and, of course, Dr Doom.
They were joined by Marvel variants of Fortnite’s original characters (among them Fishpool, Captain Jonesy, and Wolverine Peely). The clip showcased an epic scrap akin to the Battle for Wakanda from the 2018 smash hit, Avengers: Infinity War.
Like a stacked deck of Top Trumps cards, players can expect all those characters to be a big part of the new season’s Battle Pass, along with other Marvel-themed rewards.
ENTIRE MARVEL BATTLE PASS IN ORDER 🔥
— Shiina (@ShiinaBR) August 11, 2024
- Gwenpool (unlocked right away!)
- War Machine
- Peelverine
- Emma Frost
- Captain Jonesy
- Mysterio
- Shuri
- Doctor Doom (SECRET SKIN) pic.twitter.com/BAeAHITcwC
Dr Doom isn’t the only comic book villain to lay waste to the Fortnite Island. The reluctant overlord Thanos was the first of Marvel’s megalomaniacs to appear in the game as part of a limited-time event dubbed the Infinity Gauntlet in 2018. He was followed by Marvel’s planet-consuming deity Galactus during the Nexus War event, which saw players pelting the purple titan with bombs from the passenger seats of the Battle Bus.
Doom’s arrival precedes his appearance in the next big Marvel team-up movie, Avengers: Doomsday. Marvel recently stunned fans by announcing that Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr, would play Doom in the 2026 film. Before that, we may get a glimpse of the tyrant in the Fantastic Four reboot next summer.
RUMOR: FORTNITE X THE SIMPSONS IS IN DEVELOPMENT ‼️
— Sam (@SamLeakss) August 11, 2024
I received this via Email from an anonymous source, who leaked the upcoming Fortnite x Disney Shop + Avatar Collaboration. pic.twitter.com/LoqSXobMNL
Disney also used the D23 event to unveil the other treats it has in store for Fortnite fans. Also in the pipeline this season are Disney villains Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, and Captain Hook, and Pixar’s first family, The Incredibles.
In addition, the game’s prolific community of leakers have also shared some other Disney collabs that are rumoured to be in the works. Further down the line, Fortnite could make room for Avatar, The Simpsons, and Pixar’s Cars – all of which could be added to a new Disney shop inside the game.
The Disney love-in comes on the heels of the media giant’s $1.5bn (£1.17bn) investment in Fortnite creator, Epic Games.
