Fortnite Season 5 Launches With Map Changes, New Skins, And Battle Pass

A major Fortnite update--v5.0--has been released, which means players that jump into game now will find a fresh crop of content to enjoy. This is all part of Fortnite Season 5, which introduces the All Terrain Kart, the Lazy Links and Paradise Palms locations, a new desert biome, skins, a Battle Pass, and more. It also adds in Rifts, which provide new adventures for players to take on.

Fortnite's servers went down on July 12 at 4 AM ET / 1 AM PT / 8 AM GMT so that Epic Games could conduct the necessary maintenance to roll out the update. The downtime lasted around an hour and 30 minutes, but the update is now playable, and there's plenty to check out. You can see the full Fortnite Season 5 patch notes here to read about what's different in the Battle Royale and Save The World modes.

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In the lead-up to this launch, Epic dropped hints at one of the update's biggest features. Rifts that appeared after a missile launch were transporting objects in and out of the game world, which meant objects from our world popped up out of thin air inside Fortnite, and some Fortnite objects showed up in the real world. The update now gives players the opportunity to interact with Rifts, which is completely new to Season 5.

Of course, with the arrival of a new season, there's also going to be more challenges, skins, and a Battle Pass. GameSpot will be bringing you updates on all this as we're able to get our hands on them, so keep an eye out for that information.

Fortnite Season 5 Coverage:

• Fortnite Season 5 Is Live
• Fortnite Season 5 Update Adds Nintendo Switch Motion Controls
• Fortnite Season 5 Patch Notes Include New Vehicle, Map Areas, Rifts
• Fortnite Season 5: All The Skins, Back Bling, Contrails, Gliders
• Fortnite Season 5 Battle Pass: Every Reward
• Fortnite Season 5 Battle Pass: Skins, Price, Free V-Bucks, And How It Works
• Fortnite Season 5 Update Adds Nintendo Switch Motion Controls
• Fortnite Season 5 Battle Pass's Big Chase: The Level 100 Ragnarok Skin
• Fortnite Season 5 Adds Autofire On Mobile; Here Are The iOS Patch Notes
• Fortnite Challenge Guide: Where To Search Floating Lightning Bolts
• Fortnite Challenge Guide: Where To Find Risky Reels Treasure Map
• Fortnite Offering $8 Million In Big Esports Event