Fortnite Season 10 ended with quite the bang. The event titled the End has to be one of the most seen gaming moments in history, its total viewership on streaming services alone put it above most TV ratings for that time of the day. However, it has left a lot of people scratching their heads. The End was definitely the biggest thing we’ve seen in Fortnite for a while. Although, the question on everyone’s mind is when will the game be back.
Some fans and players have had their conspiracy theorist tin foil hats on in attempts to figure out when the game returns after The End. A combination of high-tier players teasing times and dates (Or trolling), along with some datamining, has given us a good indication of when the game will be making the return.
Before that though, what actually happened?
The End
The End was the event to bring in the new season of Fortnite and officially close Season 10. Players have expected something of a bang, but not to the extent that we saw. Players in the game watched the conclusion to the event. The Visitor’s missile hit in the sky, opening up a number of rifts that pulled together to bring back the Season 3 Meteor. In all this chaos, things began to be sucked into a Black Hole. This black hole then ate everything. Like, literally everything.
Nothing was safe from it. Even those who didn’t manage to get into a game were sucked in, this was the view from the lobby.
Those who missed the event still were affected in the lobby.
(video by @LordSpinkingham) pic.twitter.com/pVwo8UabgH
— Fortnite News (@FortniteBR) October 13, 2019
That was it. The Black Hole has been on screen ever since. At the same time, Epic erased their social media and replaced their Fortnite accounts with just images of the Black Hole. The Black Hole has been active in Fortnite ever since. You have to appreciate this level of commitment to a bit. Especially when you consider how small the amount of Fortnite players with an interest in the paper-thin lore is.
Can You Get Back into Fortnite After the End?
If you left your game of Fortnite running during the Event, you can still see the Black Hole, However, if you quit the game at any point you cannot re-join a server. The game has apparently been eaten by a black hole, so no new players can get in. This means we’re all relying on those who kept their games running for information. Some players have actually just been sat staring at the Black Hole since it happened.
What Has Happened Since the End?
Since The End, we’ve seen some reactions from pro players and streamers but also some activity in the Black Hole itself. Numbers streamed out of the Black Hole. These cryptic clues might have held the key to just what was going on. 11, 146, 15, 62, 87, 14, 106, 2, 150, 69, 146, 15, 36, 2, 176, 8, 160, 65 all streamed out of the black hole. Players have compared these numbers as a map reference, as a code of some sort, but the interpretation that most have settled on corresponds with some in-game challenges.
The visitor’s Audio recordings are the key to decoding the numbers. Each number represents a word in this Audio Log. Players have decoded the numbers as
“ I was not alone. Others are outside the loop, this was not calculated. The Zero Point is now inevitable.”
This gives us some information about what is going on, but no help deciding when the game comes back. Many players deduced that the game was going to be down for at least a day by the behavior of some streamers. Big names like Ninja and Tfue chose not to stream the event, a strange occurrence given how heavily watched the aftermath was. A lot of players think this is an indication that they were aware of the incoming downtime.
When Does The End Finish?
Some spillers ahead, Fortnite hasn’t been deleted. This definitely isn’t the actual end of the game, it is just a marketing stunt and some server downtime. Dataminers looking at the game’s code have discovered a line in Epic’s own game page. It seems to imply that Fortnite will be making its retune at 6 AM EST on Tuesday. Since then, the code has been changed and now says 4 AM EST Thursday.
The End isn’t actually the End, but it might be kind of a long gap. The thing to consider here is how long the game can be down to maximize Epic’s exposure from the stunt without generating a backlash. Despite the frustrations of some players, having the game down for a couple of days seems to be generating a lot more attention than a standard season changeover. This might mean Epic leaves the game down until Tuesday or Thursday. In any case, we do know a bit more about what’s coming next.
Fortnite Chapter 2
New maps have been rumored for a little while and look all but certain after The End. However, we do now have some pretty solid evidence. The Italian App Store leaked out the IOS pages for the new Season of Fortnite. It is specifically not called Fortnite Season 11, but Fortnite Chapter 2.
This implies that the End actually was the End, of Fortnite Chapter 1. 10 Seasons would be a nice round number to move things over on. This leak seems pretty reliable. If it is correct, we can expect a new map featuring new mechanics like boats. Overall, a complete redo of Fortnite that could entirely change the way the game is played.
Until then, we’re stuck watching a Black Hole to see what happens next. If you do still have your version of the game running, entering in the Konami code (UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, B, A, START) should help you pass the time.