Fortnite's original PvE game mode, Save the World, is finally going free-to-play (F2P) after an almost nine year wait. Save the World will officially go F2P on April 16, 2026.
For a small stretch of time in 2017, Fortnite only existed as a cooperative PvE base defense game. Save the World had you shooting zombies, collecting materials, building up bases and defenses, and holding out until the win conditions were met. Of course, this was all Fortnite was going to be until PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) skyrocketed into popularity, at which point Epic Games quickly moved to capitalize on the hot new genre and effectively left Save the World in the dust.
The Save the World mode initially launched into a paid Early Access title in July 2017. The plan was to eventually release Save the World as a F2P title in 2018 after it implemented feedback from those that opted to pay to play early. That release then shifted to 2019. Eventually, Epic Games scrapped their F2P plans for Save the World and only offered Save the World as a premium purchase as it left Early Access on June 29, 2020.
For years, that original PvE mode was locked behind a paywall. Epic Games did offer sparser releases of new content and updates to Save the World over the years, but their main focus was obviously on their big money maker, Battle Royale. Thankfully, Epic decided to actually go back to their original plan and Save the World will go free-to-play in about a month's time.
After so many years, I'm not sure the wait will have been worth it for players. You'll be able to find out for yourself soon enough. For those that are still interested, Epic set up a Save the World website with some community goals. If you already have an Epic account, you can "Register" on that site to join the push to unlock some free goodies when release happens.
Save the World will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Amazon Luna. It will not be available on smartphones, tablets, nor the original Switch. There is also no word on if it will still be possible to earn V-Bucks through Save the World for legacy owners.
