Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2: release date and all you need to know
Fortnite fans have hailed the first trailer for the game’s upcoming season as among its best yet.
The new clip is filled with double-crosses as a bunch of outlaws outwit each other to grab the spoils from a daring heist on a gilded bank.
At one point, an armoured truck is derailed by a dynamite-rigged llama. Later, the stash ends up in the hands of an anthropomorphic wolf. There are also cameos from a new-look Midas and Mortal Kombat’s frosty assassin, Sub-Zero.
The mayhem is soundtracked by an original boom-bap hip-hop track performed by a giant pickle and a hot dog in ripped jeans.
Fans have hailed the trailer as an all-timer, and are pumped to check out the game’s next big update, which arrives later this week.
Here’s everything you need to know about Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2.
What’s in the Chapter 6 Season 2 Battle Pass?
Epic Games recently shared a promotional image featuring the new skins players can expect to snag in the next Battle Pass.
The photo contains a group of outlaws posing in a police line-up that looks like a parallel universe version of the Usual Suspects (the gritty Nineties thriller) meets Looney Tunes.
It’s also another nod to Grand Theft Auto, specifically GTA Online, amid rumours that the new season will feature high-stakes heists in a crime-infested alternate Las Vegas.
Midas and Big Dill, who previously popped up in a promotional image shared by Epic Games, are both here. We first saw the pair on wanted posters on a lamppost, indicating that they’d been up to no good.
Midas has undergone a makeover that makes him look more like Machine Gun Kelly than a Machiavellian crime lord. Meanwhile, Dill the giant pickle was previously revealed to be a rapper in a collective known as the “Tasty Bois”.
Notably, a recent leak suggested the big green guy would come with a “Dill with it” emote that adds sunglasses to the outfit. The new skin isn’t too far removed from Fortnite’s banana-like character, Peely.
Midas and Big Dill are now joined by several madcap female characters who wouldn’t look out of place next to comic book hellraiser, Harley Quinn.
Staying with the DC influence, there’s a girl in a purple woolly mask with pointy ears that screams Batgirl. Also in the line-up is a girl wearing a traffic cone on her head; a sliver-haired female in marching band regalia, armed with a pair of swords; and a girl with pink braids and a pilot hat who could have easily jumped off the pages of punk comic book, Tank Girl.
Oh, and there’s an anthropomorphic wolf who appears to have raided Snoop Dogg’s closet.
This being Fortnite, there’s also a massive pop culture crossover. That beat-em-up villain we mentioned? It’s none other than Mortal Kombat’s frosty assassin, Sub-Zero. Here’s hoping he’ll be able to shoot ice projectiles at foes or turn them into ice blocks.
Chapter 6 Season 2 map changes
Fortnite players could be carrying out high-stakes heists on an updated map based on Las Vegas in Chapter 6 Season 2.
After recently confirming that the next season is called “Lawless” and takes place in “Crime City”, Epic Games has teased the real-world inspiration behind its setting and characters.
A new promotional image shows a landmark that is a dead ringer for the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign found on the Strip. However, this icon has been vandalised, with the words “Crimson City” graffitied over to spell “Crime City”.
There’s also a circular emblem attached to the side of the sign, featuring an insignia that appears to be either a wolf or a fox. If it’s the latter, it could signal the return of the Fox Clan, a group of warriors that draw their superpowers from the game’s wormholes (or Rifts, as they’re known).
Even if that’s a stretch, a Vegas-inspired map is exciting enough on its own. Just when we thought Epic couldn’t outdo this season’s love letter to Japan, the developer played its ace. After all, what better setting for a crime spree than Vegas?
The new map could be the perfect cops-and-robbers fix while we wait for GTA 6. Notably, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas also featured a Vegas-inspired area known as Las Venturas, making the connection even more fitting.
When does Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2 start?
It’s official: Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2 kicks off on February 21. The date is featured on a recent image shared by Epic Games, which also contains plenty of juicy Easter eggs (more on those below).
As usual, Fortnite should go down on the morning of the update (typically just before 9am in the UK), before coming back online several hours later with the new season in tow.
Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2 leaked features
Fortnite is going rogue in its upcoming season. In the above image image, an armoured truck lies tilted over in the middle of a street, its back door blown off and its cargo (a stash of bullion) strewn across the street.
In the foreground, a dumpster fire casts flickering shadows, illuminating a seedy hotel with a malfunctioning neon sign. It looks a lot sketchier than other Fortnite maps.
Of course, heists are a gameplay element Epic Games has flirted with before, most notably during Chapter 4, Season 4, which saw players attempting to steal valuables from a vampire hellbent on draining the island’s resources.
But, this time things will be different. We previously heard that heists will play an even bigger part in the next major update, with the new season rumoured to be codenamed “RobberyGameplay”.
Epic will also be unvaulting a bunch of weapons that sound ideal for ripping out vaults and tearing through safes. Reputable leakers have mentioned the return of the Chainsaw/Ripsaw Launcher, the Flare Gun (which marks nearby enemies on a map) and C4 explosives that can be detonated remotely.
Get in, grab as much as you can carry, and get out fast should be the aim of the game — probably using a hook-shot mobility item, if leaks are to be believed.
Some players even think there’s an NPC on the current Fortnite map teasing the forthcoming heists. The character was spotted talking to Midas about stealing gold and diamonds, according to YouTuber TheCampingRusher (who also predicts that we could see detective skins in the next Battle Pass, as hinted at in a recent player survey).
Talk of the update follows the start of the second season of Fortnite OG, the throwback game mode that recreates the magic of Fortnite Chapter 1.
