When can I play the new Fortnite season? Chapter 5, Season 2 downtime, explained

Here's when you can expect to start playing the new season.

Five Fortnite characters standing next to each other.
Image via Epic Games

Countless Fortnite players are obviously stoked to jump into the new season and start grinding rewards during Chapter Five, season two. But the servers have hit a bit of a snag prior to the new season’s launch, with downtime affecting the game’s playability across the board. 

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With this in mind, many players are wondering when they’ll be able to get past the blockade and start playing Fortnite Chapter Five, season two. Here’s our best estimate as to when the servers will be available. 

When you will be able to play Fortnite Chapter 5, season 2

Floor is Lava key artwork with players standing on the building surrounded by lava
Patience is key. Image via Epic Games

Fortnite Chapter Five, season two was scheduled to go live earlier today, March 8, but the downtime for the new season’s implementation was extended by several hours earlier this morning. 

Tip:

Chapter Five, Season Two of Fortnite is now live. Be aware that long queue times may be encountered as you log on to the servers. Ensure you have restarted the game and downloaded the update!

Fortnite servers went down at 2am CT, and at 8am CT, an announcement was made by Epic Games that the Fortnite devs would need about eight more hours past that point to solve the issues surrounding the game, warning players that “downtime will be a few hours longer than usual.” Later, around 3pm CT, Epic said “Players will be able to pre-download an updated version of v29.00 in approximately 5 hours.” Since that’s just a pre-download time, however, it’s unclear when players will be able to officially try out the new season.

If that updated timing window remains true, you likely won’t be able to play the new season of Fortnite until after 9pm CT on March 8.

You can keep up with all of the Fortnite updates you need on the official Fortnite Status social media page on Twitter. 

Author
Image of Michael Kelly
Michael Kelly
Staff Writer covering World of Warcraft and League of Legends, among others. Mike's been with Dot since 2020, and has been covering esports since 2018.