Fortnite v40.20 due
Epic is set to deploy Fortnite update v40.20 this week, with the patch described as bringing “considerable changes.” The rollout is tied to Showdown Act II in reporting that previews the timing and content links ahead of the update ( ).
Fortnite’s next patch is lining up for Thursday, April 16, when Showdown Act II is scheduled to begin. (fortnite.com; fortnite.com) Epic has not yet posted a public downtime notice for v40.20 on its status page as of Tuesday, April 14, but the company’s Showdown site says the Global Leaderboard Challenge runs through April 16 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time and weekly challenges unlock on Thursdays at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. (status.epicgames.com; fortnite.com) Fortnite’s March 19 season launch set up Showdown as a rivalry between Team Foundation and Team Ice King, with players earning points by beating assigned rivals in Battle Royale matches. Epic said those points unlock weapons, items, and season rewards, and the winning side at season’s end decides a Battle Pass cosmetic for everyone who owns the pass. (fortnite.com) That makes Act II more than a routine balance patch. It lands in the middle of a season built around timed story beats, leaderboard prizes, and weekly unlocks that are tied to rivalries won in live matches. (fortnite.com; fortnite.com) Epic also used this season to add Arenas on April 9, a build-only ranked mode for solo players and duos, alongside a nearly refreshed weapon pool that included the Vector 7 Designated Marksman Rifle, Ice King’s Gauntlets, and the Chaos Reloader Shotgun. (fortnite.com; fortnite.com) The Showdown website says the top five players on the global leaderboard win an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition each week, the top 20 overall at the end win a PlayStation 5, and the top 100 players on each side get team apparel. (fortnite.com) Epic’s last confirmed Fortnite update, v40.10, went into scheduled maintenance on April 1 at 8:00 Coordinated Universal Time, with matchmaking disabled 30 minutes earlier and maintenance completed at 9:50 Coordinated Universal Time. (status.epicgames.com; status.epicgames.com) If Epic follows that recent pattern, players should watch for a downtime post on the Epic status page before April 16, because that is the date Epic has already attached to the next Showdown phase. (status.epicgames.com; fortnite.com)
