‘Fortnite’ Servers Are Down, Here’s When Chapter 5, Season 3 Begins [Updated]

See updates below.

Fortnite: Battle Royale Chapter 5, Season 2 is almost over and a brand new season filled with tons of exciting new content is just around the corner. We are only hours away now.

This season looks like it will keep a lot of the same points of interest on the map, but introduce a new Mad Max / Fallout crossover that will hopefully come with a new desert wasteland biome, new vehicles and a bunch of really cool post-apocalyptic skins.

There’s already been a major live-event ongoing in Fortnite over the past couple weeks that has brought a growing sandstorm closer and closer to the island, with some of the storm clouds now red in color. It’s only a matter of time before the sand descends and the map is transformed for Chapter 5, Season 3.

So when does Season 2 end and Season 2 begin? Here’s everything you need to know.

Server Downtime And Season 3 Trailer

See updates below.

While we don’t know the exact time servers will go offline for Season 3, we do know they’re going to shut down this evening. Typically, servers go down around 2am ET / 11pm PT so expect to go offline tonight, Thursday May 23rd at 11pm if you’re on the West Coast and around 2am on Friday the 24th if you’re on the East Coast.

Servers are usually down for four or five hours with a big season update. Sometimes it takes a little longer, sometimes it’s back up and running even more quickly. Occasionally there’s some kind of hiccup and servers stay offline until the next day. But you should be back online in Chapter 5, Season 3 by the morning of Friday the 24th.

We don’t have a full trailer yet, but we have a teaser for the new season which you can watch on Twitter (I can no longer embed tweets since Elon Musk changed the Twitter domain to x.com).

What Else Can You Expect In Season 3?

We’ve seen teasers for Brotherhood of Steel skins already, so we know that there’s a Fallout crossover coming to Season 3. But there have been tons of hints at a Mad Max: Furiosa crossover as well. In fact, the new season comes out on the exact same day that Furiosa hits theaters. Coincidence? I think not.

We have this leaked image of Battle Pass skins as well:

We should be seeing key-art any minute now with a new gameplay and Battle Pass trailer a bit later. Expect new points of interest, challenges, NPCs and a new Victory Umbrella, plus lots of new content for the three new side-games Epic recently introduced: LEGO Fortnite, Fortnite Festival and Rocket Racing.

I’ll keep tabs on the game’s social accounts and update this post with any new information as it’s revealed. If a specific server downtime is announced I’ll make sure to update this post as well. For now, you have a pretty good sense of when the game will go offline and how long it will take to get back up and running. Have fun out there!

Update — Servers Are Down!

Servers are now down and Fortnite is unplayable until Epic pushes the new patch. This one is going to take longer than usual according to the developer. When the update is ready, be prepared for a large download.

According to Epic, “Please note: Patch sizes will be larger than usual Season releases. We will let you know when you can begin downloading the update.”

Here’s the Season 3 trailer:

As you can see, it’s very very Mad Max.

“Welcome to the Wasteland,” the trailer description reads. “A ferocious sandstorm has hit the Island leaving behind wreckage and a savage band of Wasteland Warriors. Get in the driver seat and go Nitro against the vehicular villains in Chapter 5 Season 3: Wrecked.”

The trailer features Metallica, which rounds out our myriad crossovers. Mad Max + Fallout + Metallica = a pretty damn great season of Fortnite: Battle Royale.

Here’s the Season 3 keyart:

Season 3 runs all summer, basically, ending on August 16th according to Fortnite leaker and dataminer extraordinaire, Hypex.

In Season 3, you’ll not only get medkits and other items you’re used to, you’ll also find some Fallout-specific items like Nuka-Cola. The item description reads:

“The wasteland is a pretty apocalyptic place… like there was some kind of falling out. Indulge yourself in these trying times with a nice cold bottle of Nuka-Cola! Restore a bit of Health, and over time, some Shield.”

I’m not entirely sure how Magneto fits into all of this, but he’s a new skin for the season as well:

This makes me think about two things. First, how genuinely fun and funny Deadpool was in Chapter 2, Season 2 when he was the secret skin and had all those hilariously silly quests. Second, how we’re about to watch Deadpool and Wolverine, which looks so damn great. Definitely one of my top movies of the summer.

Here’s the new Season 3 background:

And here’s the Fallout Power Armor skins:

All in all, it’s looking like a fantastic new season of Fortnite. Servers will be back online in a few hours. Stay tuned.