Fortnite Season 6 Is Out Now, Following Downtime

It is a very big week for Epic's battle royale game Fortnite, as Chapter 2 Season 6's start date of March 16 approaches. Epic has now shared more insight on the rollout, and in particular, the developer said players should expect patches to grow in size with this new season. [Update: the Chapter 2, Season 6 update is out now!]

Release Timing And Downtime

Downtime for Chapter 2 Season 6 begins at 12 AM ET on March 16, which is 9 PM PT on March 15. This will bring the game up to version 16.00. Epic said the specific launch time for the patch will vary by platform, but downtime will end on every system at the same time (a time Epic did not disclose).

Bigger Than Normal

Epic also confirmed that the launch of Chapter 2 Season 6 will usher in a new era where Fortnite patch sizes become "larger than normal on all platforms." Epic did not provide any specific numbers in terms of file size or percent increase, however.

Epic also did not explain why the patches will get bigger in the future, but it's not an uncommon trend with online games to see patch sizes grow over time.

What's In Chapter 2, Season 6?

A lot is still unconfirmed, but we do know that Chapter 2 Season 6 will usher in the Zero Crisis Finale event, which is a new mission that is playable solo. This mission will be available to you the first time you boot up the game after Chapter 2 Season 6 goes live.

Intriguingly, a new Fortnite teaser features Agent Jones hacking the system and potentially providing a clue about what's to come in Chapter 2 Season 6.