Epic Games has announced a delay to the launch of Fortnite’s Chapter 2 – Season 3. Rather than the initial release date of April 30th (a little over two weeks away), Epic has instead opted to extend the current Season 2 – Chapter 2 by an additional month. Season 2 – Chapter 3 will now launch on June 4th.
Epic Games stopped short of providing concrete reasons for the extension, but the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic and its impact on development cycles are presumably at play. Work from home measures means resources (workstations, servers, and the like) are limited compared to standard office working conditions. Communication between developers and departments are similarly stunted, reduced to the all too ubiquitous video chats we’ve all grown accustomed to during these unprecedented times.
To tide players over in the meantime, Epic Games has promised ‘lots of content’ still to come in Season 2 – Chapter 2. Multiple game updates scheduled between now and June 4th promise fresh gameplay, a slew of new challenges, handy bonus XP, and a few of what Epic Games calls ‘surprises.’
Epic Games also says that it will provide continued updates about the upcoming Season 2 – Chapter 3 via social channels, as well as provide updates on other plans and presumably any further negative impacts from the coronavirus pandemic on new Fortnite content.
Chapter 2 – Season 2 was similarly delayed, with Season 1 extended well beyond its initial time frame. Season 1 began in October 2019, running five months – a time frame unheard of for the battle royale shooter. When Season 2 did finally land, it ushered in a significant revamp of the map and the introduction of a well-received spy theme as well as a raft of new gameplay elements, skins, and activities for players to discover and enjoy.
While the news will undoubtedly disappoint avid Fortnite players, the one month delay isn’t too significant. It mimics similar delays across the gaming industry with titles such as The Last of Us Part 2 delayed indefinitely as a consequence of the logistical hurdles coughed up by the pandemic.