Fortnite servers are currently down, leaving many players eagerly waiting to get back on the battlefield.
Server downtime was announced earlier this morning on the Fortnite Twitter, but many players are still left wondering why they can’t play the popular battle royale game.
Last week, Fortnite had over three hours of downtime when it added its biggest update yet, which included new locations being added to the map for the first time since the game was launched.
So why is Fortnite not working and when can we expect the servers to be back up?
More: Gaming
Why is Fortnite not working?
Epic Games announced that the Fortnite servers were down from around 9am this morning while they add the latest patch to the game.
The new update includes various bug fixes, as well as some new gameplay features.
How long will Fortnite servers be down?
While an exact time-frame hasn’t been given, based on previous updates we can expect the downtime to last for at least a few hours.
Fortnite servers are likely to be up and running again at around 11am-12pm GMT, but Fortnite have recently tweeted an update explaining that this update is taking slightly longer than usual.
Update (14:20 GMT): Fortnite has tweeted another update explaining that players should expect the servers to be down for at least a few more hours as they ‘scale our backend systems’.
Hi all, it is looking like we are going to be down for at least a few more hours as we scale our backend systems. We're very sorry and we're working on it. pic.twitter.com/7TqXzTnGje
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) January 25, 2018
What is in the new Fortnite update?
One of the big additions that players will be keen to hear about is the new Chug Jug which could prove vital when you find yourself in a tough spot.
The item will give players maximum health and shields which makes it pretty powerful, but the only problem is it takes 15 seconds to use.
Speaking about the new addition, Epic Games said ‘Give yourself a fighting chance with the all-new Chug Jug! Find a safe place to Chug this Jug for 15 seconds and gain max Health + Shields.’
One of the other additions is the auto-run feature, which can be activated from a stand position by double clicking the left stick on consoles, or by pressing ‘=’ and ‘NumLock’ on PC.
Players will also now be able to disarm aim-controls if they prefer that setting during gameplay, and there is also improved accuracy for grenade arcs.
Epic Games has also made a significant change to game stats, meaning that players will only receive stats or challenge progress when they are eliminated or have won the game, not when they quit.
With the new map updates happening last week, Epic Games has also used this patch to add various bug fixes to the new locations, as well as adding more loot spawns to Haunted Hills.
Fortnite patch notes V.2.3.0
Gameplay
Added AutoRun!
Input defaults for PC are “=” and “NumLock”
Input defaults for controller is double-clicking the left stick.
Added a setting to disable aim assist on consoles.
Remapped weapon binds on AZERTY keyboards to the top row number keys.
General
Shadowplay Highlights now records player knockdowns (DBNO).
Quitting a match early will no longer award stat or challenge progress. Progress will only be awarded when a player leaves after they are eliminated or have won.
UI
Added Auto Decline Friend Requests as a new option for PC players to the Social Widget.
When enabled, friend requests will be auto-declined. Enabling this option will decline all pending friend requests.
Audio
Lowered volume of bus music and the sound played when jumping out of the bus.
Lowered volume of wind sounds played during skydiving and gliding.
Lowered the volume of gunfire, footsteps, and impacts during warmup phase.
Removed the “Caw” sound layer from the Death Valley pickaxe.
Removed some layers from the new pickaxe sounds that could be mistaken for bullet whiz-bys
World
Added more loot spawns to Haunted Hills.
For more details on the changes and to see all bug fixes visit the Epic Games website.
MORE: Fortnite servers are now working as players try map update for the first time
MORE: Why are Fortnite servers down and when will will see the map update go live?
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