Epic Games investor Disney is drumming up excitement for its future Avengers movies with a new Fortnite season featuring Marvel’s new supervillain, Dr Doom.
The update, ominously titled Absolute Doom, arrived this morning (August 16) following several hours of downtime, during which Fortnite was unplayable.
Wondering what’s changed? These are all the major new features that await players in Fortnite Chapter 5, Season 4.
New Marvel Battle Pass
A new season of Fortnite means a new Battle Pass, which players can purchase for 950 V-Bucks, or around £7.
Progressing through it gives you the chance to earn back 1,500 V-Bucks to spend on other digital goodies in the Fortnite Shop.
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In keeping with this season’s Marvel theme, the new Battle Pass features a bunch of superhero and supervillain outfits, along with a couple based on Fortnite’s original characters.
They include Gwenpool (unlocked right away); Iron Man’s pal War Machine; Peelverine (think Logan, if he was a banana); Emma Frost; Steve Rogers lookalike Captain Jones; Spider-Man’s enemy with a fishbowl for a head, Mysterio; and current Black Panther, Shuri.
New POIs
Get ready to see some new sights on the Fortnite Island as Dr Doom invades the game, with an entire army of Latvarian transplants in tow.
He’ll be plotting his takeover from the shadows of Castle Doom, a towering landmark with its own billowing furnace.
Doom can be found toiling away inside the garish structure (which looks fit for a Disney princess, not a mad scientist) as he moulds his new impervious armour.
Nearby, there’s a daunting statue of the steely gazed megalomaniac and, further afield, an entire village full of oppressed citizens.
The presence of a crumbling Fantastic Four shield, which can be seen jutting out of the ground, indicates that this season could be filled with Marvel easter eggs.
Elsewhere, Doom has erected a prison called the Raft to serve as a breeding ground for likeminded supervillains and menacing aliens.
As players explore the map, they’ll bump into the crazed despot’s henchmen, who can be transformed into allies once defeated.
New and returning weapons
Marvel’s potty-mouthed anti-hero Deadpool loves nothing more than whipping out two guns, and so it goes for Gwenpool and her Dual Micro SMGs. Track her down to get the cool, mythic pink versions of the bullet-spraying guns.
Even better is War Machine’s arsenal, including Hover Jets that can help you take flight while you use the Auto Turrets to mow down enemy players.
For some traditional firepower, there’s the Monarch Pistol, complete with a mythic version that can be scooped from a Doombot in the castle, along with the Siphon Medallion that grants a health and shield boost from felled players.
Finally, there’s the Sovereign Shotgun for those who like aiming down sights for increased accuracy. Besting Mysterio in the Doomstadt village not only unlocks a mythic version of the weapon but also grants you an invisibility-inducing Stealth Medallion.
Meanwhile, this season’s returning weapons and items include the following:
- Captain America’s Shield
- Doom’s Arcane Gauntlets
- Striker Burst Rifle
- Striker Assault Rifle
- Combat Assault Rifle
- Ranger Pistol
- Hammer Pump Shotgun
- Gatekeeper Shotgun
- Hyper SMG
- Shockwave Grenade.
What is the update’s download size?
Developer Epic Games said the download size for the latest Fortnite update would be bigger than usual due to the tweaks it has made to the game.
Here are the file sizes players are reporting for Absolute Doom:
PC: 46.8 GB
Xbox: 38.70 GB
PlayStation: 30.49 GB
On Xbox, there has been some concern of late over swelling update sizes, with the bloated downloads taking up more space on players’ already overloaded consoles. Some have mentioned previous update sizes of around 88.45 GB for Xbox.
Given the larger file size, the downtime for the latest update is longer than usual, lasting seven hours compared with three to five normally.
Fortnite Festival has a new playable concert
Battle Royale isn’t the only Fortnite mode to get an overhaul. A new season of the Guitar Hero-style Fortnite Festival has also kicked off, with Grammy-winner Karol G as its featured artist.
The singer, whose buoyant tracks mix elements of Reggaeton and Latin Urban music, follows in the footsteps of previous headliners, Billie Eilish and Metallica.
Her songs will be showcased in a new playable concert titled Karol G MSB.
Players can also expect to earn cosmetics and Jam Tracks inspired by Karol G, with items such as the Karol G Bundle available from August 22. The new Festival Pass will offer both free and premium rewards, including outfits, emotes and music tracks.
There’s more to come
Looking further ahead, Epic is also promising to update Fortnite Reload, the fresh game mode inspired by Call of Duty Warzone’s Resurgence, later this season.
