Thousands of people watched a mysterious black hole where Fortnite once stood. Literally. It was the top watched "game" on Twitch the past few days and it was literally nothing but a glorified screensaver. You could not play Fortnite at all. There was no Battle Royale. There was no Save the World. There was nothing. There were some random numbers at times, but who really cares.
All of that nothingness has led to today's launch of Fortnite Chapter 2. This is still a free download for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. Well, it's free if you want to play the Fortnite Battle Royale portion of Fortnite. See, Epic still hasn't released the Save the World portion of Fortnite for free yet. It was originally supposed to be released for free in late 2017, maybe at some point in 2018. It has been delayed for so long now that I just flat out forgot. It's now apparently supposed to launch for free in 2019, but let's not hold our breath here.
In fact, because of the whole black hole event, those who only play the Save the World portion of Fortnite were unable to play their game. As this is a mode that you could play single player, some fans are feeling more than a bit upset. Today's launch of Chapter 2 for "Fortnite" seems to really only apply to the Battle Royale mode as nothing significant was included for Save the World.
The idea that Save the World would finally go free to play with today's launch of Chapter 2 came about after Epic pulled the paid bundles from all storefronts during the black hole event. The joke is on you though because it's back on the stores and back at the $39.99 minimum price for entry. Hey, at least you Save the World players finally got some AFK improvements this week, right? Oh, and you also got a free Hero Ticket for being unable to access the game you had to pay for.
Though Save the World still doesn't even allow you to crouch, the Battle Royale mode adds in new mechanics like swimming, fishing, driving motorboats, and even carrying downed players. You can now also hide in haystacks or dumpsters. Those in the Battle Royale mode can also fire the new Bandage Bazooka to heal teammates or even engage in a group high five together. Epic also delivered a new Chapter 2 - Season 1 Battle Pass that includes a new XP system and Medals to earn.
The biggest change came to the Fortnite map. This is an "all-new" island that features 13 new locations to drop into. It's a pretty good time to be a Fortnite Battle Royale player. And it'll be even better if you use affiliate code "zips" when buying those V-Bucks and Battle Passes.
