Epic Games has always embraced creative ideas with Fortnite. That's what incredible success enables a studio to do, of course. But Epic has embraced that opportunity wholeheartedly and Fortnite's continued success is likely due in no small part to that endeavor. That's why when Fortnite leakers start speculating that a Fortnite open-world RPG mode or spin-off could be coming soon, it's not something to take lightly. A Fortnite open-world experience could absolutely be something Epic would want to make.
According to prominent Fortnite dataminer and leaker Hypex, that may be exactly what Epic Games is doing. The Twitter account has shared two images said to be tied to an upcoming Fortnite LTM codenamed Saturn. Hypex says that they believe that these teasers are potentially for a new open-world RPG game mode. The reason for their belief is both due to the context of the teaser images, but also because in May a court document revealed Epic was working on just such a game mode.
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To start, the two teaser images are sections of a larger image. They show a part of Fortnite characters armed with standard weapons from the fantasy genre. Jonesy wields a sword, Fishstick wields a spear and shield, Peely holds a magical scepter, and Cuddle Team Leader holds a bow with arrows. Behind them, arrows fly toward the team and a giant ape-like enemy in armor attacks.
Regarding the lawsuit, Hypex posted on May 3 that a "Stipulated Exhibits" document from Epic Games' lawsuit against Apple detailed what they described as an "open world simulation sandbox mode." This coincided with a new leaked map with props including a medieval cabin, a campsite, and what looked like dev nodes allowing a player to upgrade a bow. Hypex believes the new teasers and this old map referenced in Epic's lawsuit are all related.
Considering Hypex is typically very confident in saying what they know to be coming soon to Fortnite, they're being very careful with this new information. The fact is, it's very unclear exactly what Epic may be planning for Fortnite. These two separate leaks could be entirely related, so it's best not to draw any firm conclusions.
The two leaked images do heavily imply some type of Fortnite RPG with fantasy pinnings. Whether that's packaged in an open-world experience or something else, like a wave-based defense game or survival mode, remains to be seen. Regardless, it's a very interesting potential new direction for Fortnite and one likely to draw in players who may want something beyond the game's battle royale mode.
Fortnite is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and mobile devices.
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