Fortnite Server Maintenance Ends; New Update Out Now On PS4, Xbox One, And PC

Update 4: Fortnite servers are having issues again on Friday, January 26. These specifically involve logging in, which is obviously necessary in order to get online and play. Epic is aware of the problem and is looking to resolve it. Additionally, it's looking into issues that cropped up from the release of the new patch, such as those involving the broken building UI, reloading, and ADS.

Update 3: Fortnite is finally back online after a much-longer-than-expected batch of downtime. With it, the new update is now available. You can see everything it does in the Fortnite patch notes, but I think we can all agree the key addition is that of the Chug Jug.

Update 2: Epic has provided another update, this time sharing a statement on Reddit. It provides the same explanation found below along with some additional insight into where things stand: "While we can't give you an ETA when the servers will be back, we can tell you that we will make this right in regards to any time you have lost today. We are sorry for the downtime. We hope to get you back to playing soon." We'll report back with any further news on Fortnite's server status.

Update: There's still no exact time for when servers will be back online, but Epic has provided a slightly more in-depth explanation of what the problem is. "During our downtime to upgrade to 2.3, we were performing recommended tasks to resolve a lingering database issue," a post on Epic's forum states. "Those tasks ended up causing the database to go into a bad state. After significant consideration, we decided our best option was to restore from a backup at the moment we took the servers down for the patch. Our first restore failed (due to issues unrelated with the quality of the backup) and we're working on a second attempt at the restore. Our Top People are on it and it will be up as soon as humanly possible." The original story follows.

A new update for Fortnite is scheduled to launch today on all platforms, but players on PC, PS4, and Xbox One are unable to play right now. Maintenance has taken longer than expected, and developer Epic Games says the game will still be down for a period of time as it works to complete the process.

Maintenance began at 1 AM PT / 4 AM ET / 9 AM GMT today, January 25. Epic subsequently announced on Twitter, "We're sorry the update has gone longer than expected. We're making some changes to the backend systems to handle growth." It subsequently stated that downtime would continue as it worked on the matter: "Hi all, it is looking like we are going to be down for at least a few more hours as we scale our backend systems."

In its most recent update, which came just after 7 AM PT, that same estimate was given. "Sorry everyone, it's looking like the Fortnite servers will be down for at least a few more hours," it said. "More updates will follow."

In the meantime, players are unable to get online to play Fortnite's Battle Royale or Save the World modes. Although not as substantial as the recent map revamp, today's new patch will make changes to both game modes, with some of the more significant updates coming on the Battle Royale side, where the new Chug Jug item will be added. You can read more about what to expect in our story on the new Fortnite patch notes, or see them in full on the official website. We'll report back once maintenance is concluded and the update is available.