Update 2: There's the notification from Epic: things are back online.
Update: There hasn't been a new update from Epic, but the in-game notification has disappeared and the game is running, albeit slowly.
It hasn't been a great little stretch for Fortnite servers. Earlier in the week game services saw a somewhat extended outage as well as a brief downtime the next day, and on Friday night Epic Games abruptly announced that it would be bringing the servers down for emergency maintenance. The company announced the outage on Twitter:
We're bringing the servers offline for emergency maintenance. We apologize for this inconvenience. Stay updated with our status page here: https://t.co/3y0X6buriO
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) February 2, 2019
It's unclear exactly what the problem was this time, and whether or not it was related to any of the earlier outages. Earlier issues revolved around Epic's broader services, but this tweet directly relates to Fortnite, so it's a little unclear if this is the same problem or something entirely different.
It's not great timing for an outage, extended or otherwise. Tomorrow Fortnite is hosting one of its most involved live events yet: an in-game concert from DJ Marshmello that it's been hyping all week, complete with its own set of challenges and a Marshmello skin to hit the club with.
It's possible, of course, that the outage relates to the event in some way, as well. There are a few more moving pieces with this one than usual, and it's possible a late-breaking bug was discovered or an unexpected change had to be made to the format. That might not require downtime, but it's not impossible.
Hopefully, this will be taken care of soon, or at least in time for the concert tomorrow. The official Fortnite Twitter is always a good place to check, and we'll keep you updated as well.
