[GameSpot] - Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2: Start Time, Leaks, And What We Know So Far

[343iBot]

Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 1 is winding down, and though Epic hasn't yet revealed when Season 2 will kick off, in-game information and leaks tell us plenty on their own. As the new Chapter is soon set to undergo its first major overhaul, what can we expect from Season 2? As usual, a heck of a lot. Here's everything we know so far about Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 2, including when it starts, what the theme may be, and where the story is heading next.

Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 2 start time

Fortnite's next season is likely to kick off sometime around March 20. The reason we can assume this is because the current battle pass is set to expire on March 19 according to the battle pass menu within the game. That would put the new season's start date on a Sunday, which falls in line with recent seasons. It seems Epic has taken a liking to ending a season on a Saturday and kicking off the new season the next day.

However, there may be extended downtime between seasons. Sometimes Fortnite goes down for a day or more while a major new season update is applied. If that's the case this season, Fortnite would likely be back up later that week, so you can expect it to return to normal within a few days of March 19 at the very latest.

Fortnite Season 1 finale event

With the end of every season, many players look forward to a finale event. While not every season of Fortnite has an event, most do. Virtually everything leaks in Fortnite. Right now, though, dataminers have found no indications of a season finale event within the game's files. That could mean one of two things:

1. There is no finale event, and the bridge between seasons will occur with nothing more than typical downtime.
2. There will be a live event, and a future game update will include references to it.

Dataminers suspect that this season has had its final update, hence why they believe there will be no finale event, but it's not too late for the game to get another patch--patches normally land on Tuesdays--that may include information for a finale event. We'll update this article should new information suggest an event is on the way.

Fortnite Chapter Season 1 story recap

This season has revolved around The Seven and the Imagined Order, particularly with regard to The Paradigm, the ousted member of The Seven who is possibly the key to defeating the IO before it can regain its position of dominance over the island. That's the opinion of The Scientist, anyway, who has spent all season trying to convince the rest of the masked group to allow The Paradigm to re-join the group.

The island is once again under threat as we approach Fortnite Season 2.

At the conclusion of Chapter 2, The Foundation and Jonesy successfully flipped the island to defeat the Cube Queen, and in doing so, also sent Doctor Slone and the IO packing, too--but not for long. Deep beneath the surface of the island of Artemis, Slone and the IO have been drilling in an effort to re-emerge and likely attack The Seven.

Drills have appeared all across the island, and slowly but surely the IO has regained something of a foothold, albeit still a contested one. Rumors of Season 2's Seven-IO war further indicate that next season will be all about these two factions going head to head for control of the island. The IO wishes to control The Loop, while The Seven seeks to break it. It's likely that players will be caught in the middle of this struggle and maybe even have to choose sides.

As seen in the below tweet, leakers have also found data that points to how the story will change gameplay in Season 2, with things like tanks, a zeppelin, and vehicle modding further pointing to all-out warfare on Artemis. You can bet we'll have full coverage of these new features and more as soon as the season goes live later this month.

Here's some content that was being worked on this season but still unfinished, most likely for S2:
- Tanks
- Cattus Cave
- Tactical Sprint
- Double Deagle
- Jetpacks Chest
- Clamber Mechanic
- Tactical Overshield
- Zeppelin (maybe IO NPCs)
- Vehicle Mods: Armor & Turret
(1/2)

— HYPEX (@HYPEX) March 5, 2022

Such lingering story threads do seem to suggest a live event is on the way, as The Paradigm's dramatic return feels exactly like the sort of thing we'd see in an event. Then again, we've waited years for some lore payoffs, so we may not see her swoop in for a long time anyway.

As always with Fortnite, the road ahead is peppered with both fun rumors and plenty of leaks, which combine to give us an incomplete picture of where Fortnite will go next. Wherever it goes, we'll be there to cover it, so stick around as we draw ever nearer to Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 2.

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