Epic Games released their newest season of Fortnite on Friday, Nov. 3, called Fortnite OG. The new season has new and recurring fans running to explore the newest updates and additions. The average player count has increased by 36.8%, with three million players surfacing in the game daily.
The downtime for the new update began Nov. 3 at three a.m., and servers remained offline for about three hours. After the update was finished, people were able to download and install Fortnite.
Over the course of the month of November, elements from Chapter 1, seasons five through 10, will appear each week.
From Nov. 3-9, Fortnite OG returned features of Chapter 1, season five’s Fortnite map. This includes the well-known location of Tilted Towers. Tilted Towers is a classic location Fortnite players reminisce about because of its nostalgia for the original game.
Classic weapons like the assault rifle, pump shotgun and hunting rifle will return as well, in addition to vehicles like the shopping cart and all-terrain cart. Then damage traps, grappler and boogie bombs.
From Nov. 9-16, Chapter 1, season six’s longtime floating island cube event will appear in the game. In this event, the island floats above its location, where a lake surrounds it, spawning a big purple cube that travels around the island. The cloud eventually explodes as the closing event of Chapter 1 of season six. This week, the double barrel shotgun, clinger, six shooter, chiller trap, port-a-fortress, and mounted turret weapons will all be brought back.
Nov. 16-23 will tackle Chapter 1, seasons seven and eight, bringing storming planes and miniguns back to the main server. The map has a snowy biome as well, which covers the whole map with snow, giving it a winter theme.
Ending the month-long event, Nov. 23–Dec. 3, brings elements from seasons nine and 10, including items and weapons such as the heavy sniper rifle, proximity grenade launcher, air strike and junk rift. Returning traversal options in the form of the storm flip bottle, jetpack and baller vehicle will also be brought back.
Many Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students have played the new season and experienced the game’s newest inclusions.
“The new Fortnite season gives us our old memories and nostalgia back and getting to play with your friends makes it all so much better,” sophomore Mauricio Rubin said.
After the month ends, the map will revert back to Chapter 4. Fortnite OG lasts a month to include one week of each of the four older seasons, giving players seven days each to play each one. Students seem to enjoy two of the biggest changes, the map and weapons.
“I really enjoy how they added the old map back and how each week the map will be updated to each season through to season ten,” sophomore Christian Mendoza said. I also appreciate how they brought back all the OG weapons.”
Although students enjoy the old map and all the old items, some dislike the attention the new season has brought to the game. This can include an influx of competitive players and the difficulty of finding healing items.
“I don’t really like how it’s harder to find heals in matches, sometimes making it harder to survive,” junior Alex Paz said. “I also don’t enjoy the sweaty and try-hard players, but overall, I really appreciate the new update.”
Fortnite’s new season draws in new and old players with its nostalgic journey through the game’s history. Revisiting the old maps and weapons resonates with students and others because it brings players back to a simpler time in Fortnite’s history. Fortnite continues to gather players to enjoy the game even more than ever before.
