When Will Fortnite Servers Be Back Up? Here's What We Know Amid Launch of Chapter 7

Fortnite servers have been taken offline worldwide as Epic Games begins rolling out Chapter 7. The downtime began shortly after the Zero Hour event launched at 14:00 ET on Saturday. Servers were switched

off around 15 minutes after the event for scheduled maintenance, giving developers time to deploy the new chapter. Similar maintenance periods have previously caused widespread outages, including during last month’s Simpsons-themed mini season launch. Epic Games has not provided an exact time for when servers will return, but past seasonal updates typically involve three to five hours of downtime. The current estimate suggests servers may be back online around 19:30 ET, though delays remain possible. Fortnite runs on shared servers with titles including Fall Guys and Rocket League, which can sometimes lead to simultaneous outages. The timing of the maintenance — on a Saturday afternoon during a holiday weekend — has frustrated some long-time players, though major chapter updates have historically required extended downtime. Chapter 7 will introduce a new map inspired by Hollywood and the United States, as well as a new battle pass featuring Lisa from Blackpink as the Festival headliner, along with new character skins such as Marty McFly from Back to the Future and new weapons. Epic Games has also partnered with film director Quentin Tarantino for the new chapter, which includes a short film, The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge, expected to be available later in the day. Servers are expected to return in the late afternoon to early evening once maintenance is complete.