Fortnite's Free PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds-Like Battle Royale Mode Launching Very Soon

Fortnite's Battle Royale mode is becoming a free to play experience, developer Epic Games has announced. The 100-player PvP mode's setup is roughly similar to that of the uber-popular PC shooter Playerunknown's Battlegrounds. There is one map. And the last player standing wins. A big difference from Battlegrounds is that players are dropped into the world from a "battle bus" in the sky instead of an airplane as in Battlegrounds.

The Battle Royale mode will be free on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 starting on September 26. After launch, Epic will offer cosmetic items to buy with real money but the game will never sell items that impact gameplay or give some players a leg up on the competition.

In other Fortnite news, the game's PvE campaign, called "Save the World," is getting "lots of great updates" in the future, including a "Block Party" mode and Halloween-themed content in October. The Fortnite base game is still in paid Early Access, but it's going free-to-play next year.

For more on Fortnite Battle Royale, you can check out the gameplay trailer above and this FAQ on Epic's website.

Recently, Fortnite was in the news because the developers apparently accidentally turned on cross-play between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This support was swiftly removed, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he wished Epic kept it live.