[GameSpot] - Fortnite Leaked Images Point To A Different Art Style, And Maybe An RPG Mode

[343iBot]

Fortnite dataminers are always digging up exciting details for those who don't mind the spoilers, and a recent find in the game's files has the Fortnite community wondering if something big is in store. Labeled the "Saturn_Test" within the game's PC files, dataminers have surfaced what may be our first look at a new game mode in Fortnite, including what looks like a revised art style for the cartoonish game. It's worth keeping in mind that while the hyperactive Fortnite dataminers are very reliable, content discovered from their efforts is never guaranteed to be used in-game.

First picked up by iFireMonkey, two partial images, which when conjoined form a nearly full picture, indicate that Epic is at least toying with a reimagining of its ever-popular character skins. The "Saturn_Test" artwork depicts fan favorites such as Jonesy, Cuddle Team Leader, Fishstick, and Peely with a smaller stature, narrower shoulders, but maybe most importantly, character classes.

Cuddle Team Leader appears to be the group's archer, Peely looks like a mage of some sort, Fishstick may be the squad's warrior, while Jonesy may be the rogue. The massive statue behind them is an unfamiliar asset too, so while one may think it's just a leak of forthcoming battle royale content, the special weapons in their hands suggest this could be an entirely new mode.

So... What do we think this is? pic.twitter.com/wEz5Y9QHWz

— iFireMonkey (@iFireMonkey) August 10, 2021

The suggestion of a standalone RPG has been making the rounds partly because of the way the apparent character classes fit the genre, and partly because of a previous leak from the Epic versus Apple court documents. Those revealed Epic is--or at least was--working on some kind of open-world sandbox mode.

There's not a lot to go on besides that right now, but it appears Epic was hoping this particular image would sneak by the dataminers. Not long after it was discovered, it was removed from the game entirely. Test complete, it seems.

The Saturn_Test LTM has been removed from the main Fortnite endpoint.

— iFireMonkey (@iFireMonkey) August 10, 2021

Dataminers like iFireMonkey and others have also indicated that next week's 17.40 patch has been tested over 700 times by Epic, which is an exorbitantly high number and suggests some major content update is on the way. For comparison, the 17.30 patch, which included the Rift Tour, was tested about 400 times.

The high number of tests for the next patch may be a hint that a season finale event is on the way, which would fit the story too, as the aliens have been proving to be unstoppable lately and the Mothership continues to threaten an attack. We're not far from the start of Fortnite Season 8, so it stands to reason that the island will soon be host to another major event.

In short, there's a lot up in the air right now. What do these new images depict? If it's a new mode or standalone game, when can we expect it? Why is next week's patch such a focus at Epic? Are all of these things related? We should get some answers within the next few days, but don't expect them all so soon.

For now, settle for things we know for sure, like how to get all Week 10 challenges done and how to get all Week 10 Alien Artifacts.

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