Fortnite's floating island is summoning something in the sky (updated)

Update 10/21 - 1 pm PT: Fortnite's floating island has returned to Loot Lake (now Leaky Lake) and appears to be summoning something in the sky. Let's hope it's not another cube. I'm almost certain that the event is tied to the upcoming Fortnitemares event, which will likely arrive on Tuesday morning. 

Update 10/20 - 1 pm PT: While I didn't catch the event as it happened due to tripping over my PC power cord literally two minutes before the 1 pm event was predicted to occur, the rune islands have dropped to the ground. It appears they've been drained of their dark energy drawn from various locations around the map. The cube island is now on the move again, sporting a new purple aura up top and glowing brighter than usual. It also appears to be moving faster than normal. We're not sure where it's headed, but we'll keep a watchful eye out. 

It is likely that whatever this all leads to will coincide with Fortnitemares, an event teased by Epic earlier today. While we don't know what to expect from the event, the usual Tuesday morning patch will probably mark its arrival. 

Update 10/19 - 9 pm PT: The runes have converged on the cube island and appear to be powering it via the same streaks of purple lightning that summoned the cube in the first place. This cube takes a long time to get ready. We're going to be late for the movies. 

It isn't clear if or when anything will happen as a result of this event, but we'd bank on something going down tomorrow, unless Epic is trying to give the other side of the world a reasonable hour at which to take part. We'll keep an eye on it and update as soon as possible whenever that may be. 

Update 10/19 - 4 pm PT: The runes are now moving in one by one, forming a vague spiral pattern from above.

Update 10/19 - 1 pm PT: The little rune islands have all started floating, creating tiny cyclones that behave much like the larger floating island. The rune islands have been slowly converging towards the center of the map towards the large floating island. At their current pace, something could go down today. 

Original story: Just before Fortnite Season 6 kicked off, we saw the mysterious cube summoned in Season 5 melt into Loot Lake. Shortly after, it returned, taking the house at the center of Loot Lake on a magic carpet ride all over Fortnite's map on a cyclonic floating island. Over the last three weeks, the island has visited the corrupted areas on the map, previously printed by the cube, and 'activated' them. The process pulls the rune into the air and unearths volcanic craters that spew out mostly harmless bouncy lava. (Yes, I'm still talking about Fortnite).

Having just activated the last rune, the cube carrying the island is now emitting purple lightning and a noise nearly identical to the purple lightning that summoned the cube in the first place. Small streaks are also moving towards the top of the island (see the embedded tweet below). 

Having failed to predict most of the past changes that came to Fortnite off the back of in-game events, I have literally no clue what to expect whenever the island does what it does. We know the tagline for this season is "Darkness rises" so I'd expect more darkness to do exactly that, especially seeing that it's Halloween season and most of the Season 6 battle pass items echo the spooky vibe Epic is going all in on. 

There's no easy way to tell how long it'll take until something (if anything) goes down, but we'll be sure to keep an eye on it and update this story as soon as we find out more. 

Want more Fortnite? We've got you covered.

— What's new with the latest Fortnite season
— The best Fortnite creative codes
— The optimal Fortnite settings
— Our favorite Fortnite skins
— The best Fortnite toys 

James Davenport

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles. 

Latest in Survival & Crafting
Three sheep with big guns in Palworld.
It was 'super popular to hate Palworld' after launch, says community manager: 'A lot of companies might crumble under the threats, under the pressure'
Palworld Ancient Civilization Parts - Grizzbolt with a minigun
'It was a very depressing day': Palworld community manager reveals studio's reaction to Nintendo lawsuit
Crying laughing emoji with disturbing realistic elements for REPO
REPO's first update will add a new map and a 'duck bucket' so we can finally give that pesky quacker a time out
Man facing camera
The Day Before studio reportedly sues Russian website for calling infamous disaster-game a 'scam'
Sunset in the desert in Hello Sunshine
Hello Sunshine is a desert survival sandbox where you live in the literal shadow of the colossus
Performers acting as zombies are seen on a train coach during the "Train to Apocalypse" event as part of the Pandora Box Artmire Festival 2024 held to attract commuters to ride the city's rapid transit system LRT (light rapid transit), in Jakarta on July 11, 2024. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / AFP) (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images)
Venerable browser-based MMO Urban Dead is closing this week after a 20-year run, not with a bang but with a whimper
Latest in News
Three sheep with big guns in Palworld.
It was 'super popular to hate Palworld' after launch, says community manager: 'A lot of companies might crumble under the threats, under the pressure'
Palworld Ancient Civilization Parts - Grizzbolt with a minigun
'It was a very depressing day': Palworld community manager reveals studio's reaction to Nintendo lawsuit
CS 1.6 remade in CS: Legacy.
A gorgeous ground-up remake of Counter-Strike 1.6 is on its way to Steam, and one of the game's original creators says 'it really gives me old vibes'
Portal P3 pinball table
There's a new Portal game and it costs $12,500
MrBeast posing in front of a stack of cashing, promoting Beast Games season 2
Beast Games opens casting for season 2: MrBeast lost a ton of money on season 1 but apparently not enough that he won't do it again
Image for
Rise of the Ronin's PC troubles continue as players report disappearing saves on Steam