Everything you need to know about Fortnite Season 4

The next update to the popular battle royale game is now live.

Supporting image for story — (Screenshot/Epic Games)

Fortnite, the game that has captivated millions of players and even inspired goal celebrations from the likes of Dele Alli and Antoine Griezmann, has rolled out its latest major update.

The game’s Season 4 update is now live, with new themes and skins for players, as well as gear, magic and other loot to battle over.

Even if you’ve never played yourself, there’s every likelihood you know someone who does, so here’s a rundown of everything you to need to know about the latest gaming phenomenon.

So what exactly is Fortnite?

In essence, it’s a free-to-play battle royale game where 100 players, alone or in teams of up to four, battle to be the last player to survive.

It can be played on PlayStation, Xbox, Mac, PC and on mobile via Apple’s iOS.

The game takes place within a constantly shrinking in-game “safe zone”, which forces players to gradually face off against one another.

The battle royale mode itself is actually a spin-off from the original Fortnite game – which launched last year and revolved around a single or multiplayer survival mode involving fighting off zombies – but has now become the star gaming attraction.

What then is a Fortnite season?

These are the names given to the major updates that occur every few months that change the overall theme of the game and add new resources, characters and other items.

Season 3 started back in February and centred around a space theme, with many of the character skins featuring spacesuits and other sci-fi-influenced items.

Season 4 went live on Tuesday via an update to all versions of the game and again has introduced a new theme – this time it’s aliens.

What else is in Season 4?

A big tease for Season 4 was the appearance of a comet in the in-game sky several weeks ago, which steadily grew closer as time went by.

It was rumoured to be part of the countdown to the update and it has proven true, with Fortnite’s own game page on the App Store now confirming the comet has indeed crashed.

The game also encourages players to visit the crater left behind, with a new low gravity ability open to players who consume the glowing rocks found at the crash site.

Why has it become so popular?

This has been coupled with the game’s rise to prominence in pop culture – Drake is among those to have live-streamed themselves playing it, and prominent sportspeople – including Alli and Griezmann – have incorporated the game’s victory dances into their on-pitch celebrations.

Add to the mix that it’s fun to play and you have a potent formula that has drawn in millions of players.