[GameSpot] - Fortnite Countdown Timer Points To August 6 Event, Possibly An Ariana Grande Concert

[343iBot]

A small patch arrived in Fortnite today, but it brought with it some huge implications. Above The Aftermath at the center of the island now floats two new objects: a unique alien Abductor disc, markedly different than those that debuted earlier this season, as well as a countdown timer. Here's what we know about Fortnite's next event.

Fortnite August 6 Event

Epic is playing coy, at least for now, about the countdown timer shown over the island's center, even as it's also prominently displayed in the player lobby for battle royale mode. We know the timer is set to end on Friday, August 6 at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET. While it could be anything, there's one leading theory: It points to the often-rumored Ariana Grande concert.

A new in-game timer suggests an August 6 Fortnite event.

We first heard about the possibility of such an in-game event during the Epic versus Apple court battle. Some of the same material that suggested Epic was working on a concert with the pop star also mentioned other in-game milestones we've since seen come true, such as the NBA event and the LeBron James skin.

There was nothing at the time to confirm the Ariana Grande concert was finalized, but reliable leakers began teasing the event last week. Now the timer's arrival seems to corroborate the event is just around the corner, though there remains some confusion due to Fortnite's map also being set to receive a major midseason overhaul soon.

Within the datamined files of the 17.21 patch are our first looks at the revised Slurpy Swamp, Corny Complex, and Coral Castle locations, which will each be affected by an alien attack and wind up as low-gravity regions.

Here's Abducted Coral, Slurpy & Corny.. There's more to them but they all look almost the same! pic.twitter.com/7urkVhKoWw

— HYPEX (@HYPEX) July 27, 2021

The timing of when this is to occur is muddying the waters for Ariana Grande concert-hopefuls, but given the jump in spectacle from Fortnite's Marshmello concert to last year's Travis Scott concert, perhaps the Grande concert will include map changes as part of the show. It would be the first time this has happened, but Epic has been ramping up its live events since Fortnite first arrived in 2017. Then again, they could still take place at separate times.

The timer pointing to next Friday also lends credence to the concert theory given that the Travis Scott concert also debuted on a Friday before reairing all weekend in a custom Fortnite playlist. Typically, Epic uses Tuesday updates to add new in-game content, while weekends are reserved for special events.

Epic's own teasing from the 17.21 patch notes suggest the new Abductor appearing over The Aftermath is not there to hurt anybody. "An unusual Alien ship is hovering over The Aftermath… The IO says 'unusual' because its intent doesn’t seem to be for harm. It’s predicted its purpose will become clearer in the near future," reads the post from Epic.

With so much else coming true from the Epic versus Apple court documents, it feels like only a matter of time until we see Ariana Grande in Fortnite, and we may even have a precise timer counting down right now.

For more on another busy Fortnite week, don't miss the Week 8 Alien Artifacts and the Week 8 challenges. Meanwhile, an Epic Games survey mentioned dozens of potential future collaborations, like Dragon Ball Z and Breaking Bad.

View the full article