When will Winterfest start in Fortnite? 2021 release date and time of Christmas event, skins - and leaks

With the festive season just around the corner, it’s time for Fortnite’s annual secular celebration of the holidays in the form of Winterfest 2021!

Fans will be glad to hear of the event’s return after a fallow year; Christmas was represented by 2020’s ‘Operation: Snowdown’, but that was more of a scaled back winter affair.

So just what can we expect from it?

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is Winterfest?

In the world of Fortnite, Winterfest is the game’s annual celebration of all things Christmas.

It began in 2018 under the slightly more unwieldy name of ‘14 Days of Fortnite’, and each year since - barring one - has given players special winter-themed challenges and content to enjoy with the Battle Royale game.

What can we expect in 2021?

The event’s fabled presents are back which, in the holiday spirit, give players with free Winterfest content through gifts that can be found by visiting the virtual Winterfest Cabin at the lobby screen.

While the full lists of gifts available this year has not yet been confirmed by Epic Games, eagle-eyed ‘data miners’ who have poured through the game’s code have found references to the following items.

• Winterfest 2021 banner
• Foundation Contrail
• Holiday Sweater Wrap
• Winterfest 2021 Loading Screen
• Winterfest 2021 Music Pack
• “Epic Yarn” Emote
• “Scholar Festive Skin
• “Scholar Festive” Pickaxe
• Winter Lights Wrap
• Winterfest 2021 Spray
• “Shovel Male” Pickaxe
• Fortnite x Matrix Glider
• Animated Winterfest 2021 Emoticon
• “Banana Winter” skin

There will also be two Winterfest skins - items that change the look of your in-game character - on offer, which you will be able to earn by playing through the event.

In 2021, those skins are a “Frozen Peely” skin and an “Isabelle Festive skin”, both of which you can see below courtesy of trusted data miner, HYPEX.

In terms of Winterfest challenges, data miners have so been unable to decode the encrypted files which hide away their secrets, although one of the challenges has come to light.

It tasks players with collecting Toy Biplanes at Condo Canyon, Greasy Grove, or Sleepy Sound.

When is Winterfest 2021?

Winterfest 2021 will launch on Thursday 16 December, and is expected to run right through until 6 January 2022.

“The festivities kick off on 16 December with Sgt Winters barreling around the island in his custom big rig, bringing 14 days of presents, frosty fresh items, special challenges, tons of new Creative experiences, and lots more,” said Epic in a Christmas card sent to Fortnite YouTubers.

As for the exact time that the update will go live, that hasn’t yet been confirmed, although it makes sense to expect Winterfest to begin around the time most other events do: 3pm UK time.

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