Fortnite Countdown Timer May Signal Big Changes For Season 5

Fortnite is teasing yet another special something, and fans are once again speculating like wild about what it may mean. A missile launch appears imminent, thanks to a countdown clock connected to an evil lair that appeared spontaneously on screens across the map.

The obvious conclusion is that the battle royale game is preparing to change the map again. Following a long tease of a meteor in the sky, it hit land and created a new area as well as several hidden secrets. This countdown may signal the same thing: once the timer hits zero, the missile launches and impacts some area of the map, leaving it changed and ushering in Season 5.

Then there are wilder theories. A user on Reddit (via PCGamer) suggests that the whole event is tied to the Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere and Inca traditions. According to the theory, the countdown timer appears to be leading to Inti Raymi, an Incan religious celebration that included sacrifices to the sun god. Those sacrifices were often llamas, a de facto mascot in Fortnite.

It wouldn't be the first time Epic pulled a curveball, given that the community seemed certain that the meteor would hit Tilted Towers. Epic acknowledged the twist and had some fun with the community over it. Ultimately, the meteor hit the Dusty Depot to create the new Dusty Divot. Whatever ends up happening this time, we'll know what this countdown clock signifies soon, as the timer is slowly running out.

Fortnite has recently become a field of battle in the console war, given the game's launch on Switch. That helped put a fine point on the lack of cross-play on PlayStation 4, and Nintendo and Microsoft have seemingly teamed up to jab at Sony over the practice. Sony has been hesitant to promise a change in its policy, and a former Sony studio head recently came forward to say that based on his time at the company, the decision was all about money.