Fortnite Winter Update and Competitive Changes for 2021  

Fortnite
December 17, 2020
Jordan Ashley

Just like many other developers featuring giveaways in the Holiday Season,  Fortnite has received its latest update, continuing its run of adding in a lot of new content for players over the Christmas period.

Most free-to-play games do this, adding in season skins and items. Fortnite’s Winterfest celebration though comes with a lot of new content for the game itself, bringing new weapons, map changes, and even a limited time mode that might look pretty familiar. The Fortnite Winter Update is the first of the new season, and one of the most substantial in a long time.

Fortnite Snowdown 2020

© Fortnite

Fortnite Winter Update

While the Fortnite winter update has dropped into the game, but we do have to wait a little longer to finally get a look at Winterfest. This is Fortnite’s big event over the the holiday period, with challenges and rewards for playing. In the past, its offered one of the rare chances for Fortnite players to get a skin without a Battle Pass or V-Bucks.

So far, the Fortnite winter update has added in new weapons and challenges to the game. Based on some leaks and clues in-game though, this is what we can expect from the Winterfest:

  • More Snow – The Christmas update of the game typically brings quite a bit more snow to the map.
  • Planes – Epic is showing off planes again, which could be a sign the controversial vehicles are coming back to the game.
  • Rewards and Challenges – Winterfest gives players the chance to unlock cosmetics and other rewards through completing Christmas challenges.
  • Map Changes – We’ve already seen some of these, with Christmas lights added to all of the game’s bushes.

The Spy Within – Fortnite Winter Update

The Fortnite winter update has brought a new Limited time mode that’s grabbed players attention. It’s called the Spy Within, and it has a pretty glaring resemblance to another major viral hit of 2020. It’s essentially just Among Us, but Fortnite.

The mode works pretty simply. A group of players are active in the game, with some designated as spies and some agents. Spies work covertly to stop the agents from succeeding, and the players get to vote players off. It works the same as Among Us. So you can probably expect pretty much the exact same things to happen in this game mode. It is likely to feature in plenty of Fortnite streamer content. It is actually kind of shameless in how little Epic has bothered to change.

Fortnite Competitive in 2021

While it isn’t specifically part of the Fortnite Winter update, Epic has released some more information on the future of competitive Fortnite. This is what’s been announced:

  • In-Person Events – There are no plans to hold in-person tournaments through 2021. This includes the Fortnite World Cup. While disappointing, this was probably going to be necessary because of the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
  • FCNS Trios – The Fortnite Champion Series has usually operated by switching formats with each season. Epic is putting a stop to that and keeping Trios as the game ode for the whole of 2021.
  • Season 5 – The Chapter 2 Season 5 of FNCS is going to kick off in February. This is quite a big wait, so we might have a longer season length than average.

Those are the major updates to Fortnite competitive for the coming year. What it amounts to is a much more stable and consistent competitive side for the game. So you’ll have a more predictable balance, and a greater focus on skill for the best Fortnite players competing. This is essentially what players have been wanting foe a long time. As long as the game’s competitive balance remains pretty stable around these events, it should give Fortnite players and fans very little complain about.

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