Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 8: map changes, new Battle Pass explained - and when does Season 8 start in the UK?

Season 8 is here, bringing with it a load of new content and furthering Fortnite’s bizarre narrative
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The latest season of Fortnite is upon players, bringing with it major changes to the popular battle royale game that continues to command a large audience years after its release.

Season 8 is going under the subtitle “Cubed”, in reference to the ominous, purple cubes at the centre of the game’s meta-narrative.

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Long time Fortnite fans will no doubt remember Kevin the Cube, a mysterious floating cuboid that had fans so enraptured they bestowed the cheerfully droll “Kevin” moniker upon it.

They’re making a return in the game’s latest season, as well as a number of other big changes.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What happened?

As is often the case, Season 7 of the game came to an end with a spectacular in-game live event.

In it, players were sent on an impossible mission to destroy the Mothership, but upon arrival, it was revealed Kevin the Cube was inside, with they and their offspring powering the ship.

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Players had to reboot the Cube, and upon doing so, Kevin had changed from the usual shade of purple, to a striking blue.

Bombs then destroyed the ship, flinging players and several of the cubes with them, which appear to have rained down on Fortnite’s vast playing space.

As a piece of debris careened towards the screen, the words “To Be Continued” appeared.

After that, Fortnite was offline, with players unable to log on to enjoy the game. That’s not an unheard of practise, with Epic Games often shutting the game down in order to implement some of its bigger updates behind the game.

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Thankfully, a timer accompanied the words, giving players a clearer idea of when the game would be back up and running.

“After the alien mothership’s destruction, the cubes that powered it crash-landed on the island,” says Epic Games. “They’ve begun spreading corruption, as well as portals to the dark, monster-filled ‘Sideways’.”

When will Season 8 begin?

Fortnite Season 8 was expected to kick-off at 10am UK time on Monday 13 September.

What’s new to the map?

(Image: Epic Games)(Image: Epic Games)
(Image: Epic Games)

The biggest addition to the game seems to be the introduction of the “Sideways”, an alternate dimension in which the normal rules of the game are rewritten.

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Epic Games says players will encounter a new location ensnared by the Sideways in each match, or come across Sideways anomalies, gateways that will pull you in if you get too close.

“Once pulled in, defeat waves of Cube Monsters for Sideways weapons and special crafting ingredients,” they say. “The rules are different in this mysterious world: gravity is low and building is non-existent.”

While defeating the Cube Monsters, you’ll also be able to open up Sideways chests to acquire weapons from that world, like the Sideways rifle and Sideways minigun.

You’ll deal bonus damage by revving them to their super powered state, and you can use Cube Monster parts from defeated monsters to upgrade them, then take them with you towards a Victory Royale.

What else is new?

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It seems this season of Fortnite may have more of a focus on teamwork and cooperation than previous instalments.

“To fight back against the cubes,” says Epic Games, “the island’s survivors need your help. work together with the entire Fortnite community to build turret stations, to decide which new weapons to bring to the island, which favourites to unvault, and more throughout the season.”

How does the Battle Pass work?

Don't expect any changes to Fornite’s pricing model when it comes to purchasing Season 7’s Battle Pass.

Purchasing one will allow you to unlock additional rewards throughout the season, and will cost you 950 V-Bucks (the game’s in-game currency).

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The smallest bundle of V-Bucks you can buy is 1,000 and currently costs £6.49.

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