Fortnite’s entire map has disappeared into a black hole, leaving gamers unable to play, as part of a worldwide event to mark the end of the game’s 10th season.
The popular Battle Royale game is known for its large, live showpiece events, and Epic Games, its developer, had previously confirmed that an event known as The End would take place on October 13th.
Those who logged on to Fortnite on Sunday night saw the virtual island where the game takes place hit by a meteor shower before the entire map appeared to be sucked into a black hole. Since then anyone logging on to the game has been presented with a live stream of the black hole and no way of playing.
As part of a complete blackout, the official Fortnite Twitter account has also deleted all of its tweets apart from a live stream of the black hole. It has been retweeted more than 120,000 times.
The game, which sees up to 100 competitors battle to be the last player standing, is broken into seasons that last several months, with the start of each new season marked by in-game events. Many players are now expecting a large-scale refresh of the game and its island setting before it returns for the 11th season, likely to begin in the coming days.
Previous large Fortnite events have included a meteor shower, a rocket launch and a fight between a giant robot and a monster taking place across the map earlier this year. Since its initial release, in 2017, Fortnite has become one of the world’s most popular video games. The free-to-play game has attracted more than 100 million players and seen its in-game dance moves replicated by a number of athletes during major global events, including the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
Earlier this year the game held its own inaugural World Cup Finals, where more than 100 players competed for a total prize pot of $30 million, or more than €27 million. – PA
