Fortnite Suffers an Extra 8 Hours of Downtime Before Chapter 5 Season 2 Starts

Fortnite players have been eagerly awaiting the drop of the new season, but unfortunately this wait has been extended. The elongated downtime period has left players wondering when Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 2 will start.

Fortnite Downtime Extended Midway Through Chapter 5 Season 2 Maintenance

According to Fortnite Status on X, the new season of Fortnite is delayed by at least another eight hours. Downtime for Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 2 began at 3am ET, with matchmaking disabled shortly before. During this time players can no longer join a match or even load up Fortnite.

Image Source: Epic Games

Usually, the servers take a few hours to come back online. Barring any hiccups or mishaps, players can join Fortnite matches soon after. As this was a season update and not a whole new chapter, fans didn’t think there would be much longer to wait than normal. Unfortunately, news arrived from the Fortnite Status page on X that they have encountered an ‘unexpected issue.’ This will delay the downtime even further.

Their official statement reads: “Hey everyone, we encountered an unexpected issue during our maintenance and we need to extend downtime at least 8 additional hours. We apologize for making everyone wait longer than usual to drop into Chapter 5 Season 2 of Battle Royale. the team is working through this as quickly as possible and we will provide another update when we have more info.”

So it looks like we will have to await further news on the status of the game. For now, you’ll have to wait a good few hours before playing Fortnite again. Until then, you can get ready for the new season by checking out the weapons we can expect to find. We’ve also got a list of the quests you will be given in Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 2.