Fortnite dominated 2018 in video gaming, but Epic Games’ battle royale phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down as we enter 2019. The game’s latest content update added a new item that should help to get the New Year’s Eve party started and players are even reporting a special in-game event as the clock counts down.
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Right now in Fortnite‘s battle royale mode, you can use the new Boom Box item. Rather than acting as a weapon against other players directly, the Boom Box deals structural damage to buildings in a large radius around it, with newly built walls being completely destroyed every time it activates. Shooting the Boom Box will nullify its effects, so players ought to place it somewhere difficult to see.
Epic Games also appears to have put a little 2019 celebration into Fortnite, as well. As the clock hits midnight in players’ time zones — and earlier for others — what looks to be a meteor crashes through a rift in the sky and begins descending. It isn’t a meteor, however, but a large spinning ball like the one seen in Times Square. Alongside the ball, fireworks go off, spelling out “2019” in the sky.
There are goodies for those interested in the new Creative mode as well. A new “Ice Castle” theme has been added, with features eight prefabricated Ice Castle buildings as well as five galleries.
Epic Games has big plans for Fortnite in 2019, including making the single-player and cooperative mode “Save the World” free, rather than a paid addition as it is right now. The mode was the first content to come to Fortnite, with battle royale and the new Creative mode both arriving substantially later. The game’s constant updates and improvements helped it be one of the best battle royale games of the year, alongside newcomer Black Ops 4. The latter game introduced a battle royale mode called “Blackout” for the first time ever, and its use of traditional Call of Duty shooting mechanics helped it to find a sizeable audience, as well.
Fortnite is now available with cross-play support on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, iOS, and Android.
