Fortnite players across the United States, including those in Chicago, faced difficulties accessing the game on Saturday as servers were taken offline for scheduled maintenance. The disruption occurred following the Zero Hour live event, which heralded the release of the new v39.00 update. An alert on the official Epic Games website informed users about the downtime, stating, “Fortnite game servers will be offline following the Zero Hour live event while we release v39.00.”
Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, has reported that the popular video game boasts over 400 million users globally and has generated more than $5 billion in revenue, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The scheduled maintenance started around noon, causing a surge in player reports regarding access issues.
By 1:15 p.m., nearly 2,000 users had logged issues on the tracking site Down Detector, highlighting the scale of the disruption. Players expressed their frustrations on various platforms as they awaited updates on the expected duration of the downtime. Epic Games has indicated that the maintenance could last several hours, though no specific timeframe was provided.
While players eagerly anticipate the new features and changes that come with the update, the interruption has sparked discussions about the balance between game enhancements and server reliability. The downtime is part of a broader strategy to improve the overall gaming experience as Fortnite transitions into its next chapter.
In addition to the server issues, players are looking forward to upcoming events and the return of rare skins, which have been absent from the game for over three years. The anticipation surrounding these elements continues to engage the Fortnite community, underscoring the game’s enduring popularity.
As players await the restoration of services, they are encouraged to keep an eye on official channels for updates on server status and details regarding the new features introduced in the v39.00 update. The community remains hopeful for an exciting next chapter in the Fortnite saga while dealing with the temporary inconvenience of server maintenance.
