What time does Fortnite’s season 9 start?

We have a pretty good idea based on previous updates.

Image via Epic Games

A new Fortnite: Battle Royale season is coming this Thursday, May 9. After what happened during The Unvaulting event, with the return of the Drum Gun and the destruction of Retail Row and Tilted Towers, players are eager to see everything that’s coming with this update. They won’t have to wait too long, though.

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Fortnite’s season nine update will be pushed live at 3am CT, Epic Games has confirmed. That’s when server downtime should start and players should be able to see the full patch notes of season nine on Epic Games’ website. Please note that Epic has yet to announce the official release time. We’ve converted the estimated start time of season nine to the time zone of a few regions in the table below.

RegionUpdate Time
North America West (Pacific Time)1am
North America East (Eastern Time)4am
Brazil 5am
United Kingdom9am
South Africa, Egypt10am
India 1:30pm
Singapore4pm
South Korea, Japan5pm
Australia (Eastern Time)6pm
New Zealand8pm

Players will probably be able to jump into the game and test changes for themselves roughly two hours after the update has been deployed. Maintenance for new seasons usually takes longer than mid-season updates, so players should expect the servers to be closed for at least two hours.

After season nine starts, Epic will probably keeping its usual schedule of weekly game updates on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, with occasional Content Updates on Thursdays. Epic has yet to announce if there will be any changes to this schedule after the community showed frustration toward the company’s reportedly intense working conditions and up to 100-hour workweeks to meet content demands.

Regardless of future updates, that’s when Fortnite’s season nine should be released on May 9.

Author
Image of Bhernardo Viana
Bhernardo Viana
Bhernardo is senior guides writer and strategist at Dot Esports. He's been working in the gaming industry for over 9 years, with works published on Destructoid, Prima Games, ESPN, and more. A fan of Pokémon since 6 years old and an avid Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch player. Now writing strategy and quests guides for several mobile and PC titles.