"Fortnite Battle Royale" received a huge update on Thursday morning (August 23), as Epic Games finally decided to release patch 5.30. This update brought many new things, including a new item, weapon balance changes, a unique limited-time game mode, and a huge change to the in-game island. Overall, the patch has been received well by the community, even though it may have some negative long-term effects. There are rumors that Save the World could be free in September.
Patch 5.30 was originally scheduled to be released on Tuesday, August 21, but the video game developer decided to postpone it.
This was done, most likely, to prevent the early leak of the special Road Trip skin, but Epic Games may have done more harm than good with this move. In short, this means that Season 6 will be postponed for a few days, and players will most likely have to wait for early October.
Season 6 delay
Season 5 started on July 12 and its original ending date was September 25. Season 6 would start on the same day, or one day later, but it turns out that this won't happen. Twitter page FNBRLeaks has posted datamined info which indicates that the current season will be extended. While many "Fortnite Battle Royale" players have expected Epic Games to give them two more extra days of Season 5, it turns out that the next season will be delayed by one week.
Looks like Season 5 was delayed to end on October 2nd rather than September 25th pic.twitter.com/y5HQNifC5e
— Fortnite: Battle Royale Leaks (@FNBRLeaks) August 22, 2018
As you can see in the tweet, the original ending date of Season 5 was September 25, but it was pushed to October 2. Considering that Epic Games delayed 5.30 for two days and patch 5.21 for one day, this could be the reason why Season 6 was pushed until October.
Another reason for this delay could the release of other games that are coming out this fall. Many video game developers will release their products in either October or November, and that is why Epic Games may need more time to make sure that "Fortnite Battle Royale" is ready to compete with new releases.
"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" and "Battlefield V" will both be released in early October, and both of these games will have a battle royale mode.
Even though these games are much different and should not be "Fortnite's" direct competitors, Epic Games has to make sure that Season 6 meets high expectations and attracts even more players.
Season 5 events
Patch 5.30 replaced Tomato Town with Tomato Temple, which is the first big map change this season. We can expect even more events to occur in the following few weeks, and the next event is scheduled to be released on August 27 at 2:00 PM ET.