Fortnite Chapter 2 is allegedly available to preload in China
But the black hole is still there.
Millions of people have been staring the black hole that was once Fortnite for the better part of a day now, but the question of when the next season begins remains. According to an App Store leak, it's Fortnite's second chapter, but Epic has yet to give us a launch time, or even a date. Until then, there's only the black hole. In China, however, the update is allegedly already available.
Various screencaps of in-progress downloads have made their way onto Twitter, showing a 13GB update to the Chinese servers. Rather than one image being shared around, there are several of them from various sources, along with what appears to be emailed download instructions.
Fortnite: Chapter 2 is now available for download for Fortnite China. DOWNLOAD SIZE: 13 GB (console) pic.twitter.com/xWBFRYdbwvOctober 14, 2019
This follows claims that the official Chinese website already revealed the date of when Fortnite will be back up, with an accompanying showing that it's due to kick off on October 15 in China, though not the specific time. The assumption is that it's right after midnight, which is less than an hour away.
Fortnite China just announced that the new chapter starts on October 15! (Thanks to @Zer2o for the screenshot), we might actually get a downtime announcement tonight.. pic.twitter.com/8e2hC0e5KvOctober 14, 2019
That message seems to have changed since the screencap was taken, if it revealed the date at all, and now just tells players to stay tuned for the arrival of the next chapter. There's also a link to a video of Fortnite's final moments in China, which took place earlier today.
I had a quick root around in the website source code and couldn't see anything that referred to a possible launch time or date, despite claims to the contrary, so I'd take that with a pinch of salt.
So far, Epic's giving nothing away, and the black hole remains.
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Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.