Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Latest ‘Fortnite’ update sends you flying into the night sky

By
BALLOONS | NEW ITEM

After a brief delay, Epic Games has released the latest update for Fortnite, and it brings with it a new item to help you get around the map in style. Whether it’s the type of style you’re going to want, however, remains to be seen.

Recommended Videos

With update 6.21, Fortnite: Battle Royale now has balloons. The item comes with 20 balloons in total, with six available to blow up at any one time, and they can fly up to the game’s maximum build height. At this distance, they’ll pop quickly, so you want to be careful about where you float. Balloons are an Epic rarity, and can be found in floor loot, chests, llamas, vending machines, and supply drops.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The new version of the game also continues to make use of the glider redeploying system that Epic Games has been testing as of late. If you’re at least three stories off the ground, you’ll be able to pull out your glider like you would at the beginning of a match. The system is now present in all game modes, rather than just the “Soaring 50’s” it was available in before, and it doesn’t sound like it’s going anywhere.

“We understand not all players agree with this change, but we would like to continue with this functionality in the game based on the positive results we’ve been seeing,” Epic Games said in the patch notes.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Mac players have more options for how they play the game, as well. With 6.21, you can now use the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller as well as newer PlayStation 4 and Xbox One controllers. The Pro Controller was already compatible with Steam, so it could become your only PC controller if you prefer it to the other companies’ offerings.

Fortnite is now available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. All versions of the game support cross-platform play, and the Save the World mode is available on all platforms but Switch, iOS, and Android. It will be going free-to-play in 2019, just like the battle royale mode.

Did you see any trick-or-treaters wearing Fortnite costumes this Halloween? Let us know in the comments!

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Fortnite faces community backlash over the addition of bots in OG mode
Fortnite battle bus.

The recent launch of Fortnite OG shot the battle royale title back up the top of the charts, not that it ever really loosened the chokehold it has on the gaming community — and then the launch of the game's first-person mode further stoked the flames. One recent change is not as welcome, however. Fortnite recently shared a post on X detailing the addition of Duos mode, as well as "matchmaking improvements in all Fortnite OG playlists." That doesn't sound like a red flag ... until you read the comment section of the post.

Fortnite OG playlists just received bots, and players are taking that change about as well as they took the addition of No Build mode. In other words, it created a heck of a lot of controversy. The new bots aren't overly aggressive, and therein lies the issue: They present no challenge. Player complaints are that the bots move slowly, make decisions that get them killed, and much more, according to PCGamesN.

Read more
Fortnite is finally getting a first-person mode next week
Key art for Fortnite's new first person shooter mode Ballistic.

Fortnite Ballistic, the long-awaited first-person mode for Epic Games' hit battle royale shooter Fortnite, will finally come to the game on December 11.

Epic Games first teased a first-person Fortnite mode in March, but now we have a clearer idea of how it will play. Ballistic is a round-based 5v5 mode with no respawns, similar to competitive shooters like Valorant or Spectre Divide. A team of attackers fights to plant and detonate a Rift Point Device in certain spots on the map, while defenders fight to eliminate the other team before they can do the same. While attackers and defenders will swap their roles after six rounds, Ballistic matches are a best-of-seven affair across both ranked and unranked play.

Read more
It only took 20 minutes for Fortnite OG to pass 1 million players
Fortnite OG Key Art

Fortnite OG isn't exactly a new mode -- it's come and gone several times before. What makes today's rollout special is that Fortnite OG is here to stay, and it's news that has delighted a lot of fans. Players have flocked back to Fortnite to play the nostalgia-riddled modes they remember.

In fact, within a mere 20 minutes of release, Fortnite OG had more than 1 million concurrent players in regular Fortnite and another 270,000 in Zero Build, Polygon reports. For context, that's about 1,822 times the maximum number of players Concord saw. Fortnite has always been a force of nature, but it has recently seen a surge of gamers like never before. As of right now, as we write this story, the game has 3,383,844 players, with its all-time high peak -- yes, of any of the previous years -- coming just five days ago with a whopping 14 million concurrent players.

Read more