When does Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2 launch?

With Fortnite’s Chapter 4 Season 2 almost here, it’s time to start looking to when the new season will launch and what will be in it. As Chapter 4 Season 1 comes to a close on March 8, the gate at Warden’s Watch has been destroyed and a red rift has opened in the sky. Epic has been, as always, quiet about the new season’s details, but there’s still plenty we can figure out on our own, though.

Let’s look at when Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2 launches based on clues and history, and then talk about what to expect from the new season.

When does Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2 launch?

Update (March 10): Chapter 4 Season 2 is now live! There are a number of battle pass skins to unlock, a map refresh with new points of interest (including Mega City), futuristic vehicles to use, and much more.

Image: Epic Games

Chapter 4 Season 2’s start date will be on Friday, March 10, with developer Epic Games confirming downtime will start at 2am ET. Based on previous seasons — where downtime can take anywhere between two to five hours — we estimate the Chapter 4 Season 2 release time will be around the following:

• 1 a.m. - 4 a.m. PST for the west coast of North America
• 4 a.m. - 7 a.m. EST for the east coast of North America
• 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. CET for western Europe/Paris
• 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. GMT for the U.K.
• 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. JST on Japan/Tokyo

Initially, the official end date for Season 1 was March 8, based on Epic’s announcement that Season 1 would be ending a few days earlier than expected. That fits since, historically, seasons ended and began over weekends.

The March 10 date was initially confirmed by the Cipher quests that showed up with last week’s 23.50 update. The Cipher quests came with a “looping encrypted message” that reads “3.1.0.2.0.2.3.” or March 10, 2023.

What’s coming in Fortnite’s ‘MEGA’ Season 2?

Between leaks and official announcements from Epic, we know Chapter 4 Season 2 have had a distinctly neon cyberpunk vibe along with the name MEGA.

The official Fortnite Twitter account has revealed a number of characters in the days following the release date announcement, all of which will likely be Battle Pass skins:

Prior to the official announcement, we’ve seen several leaks from prominent Fortnite Twitter accounts, including details of a “Futuristic-Japanese” theme as well as teaser posters:

There’s also expected to be a new location (mostly likely) called Neo-Tokyo and returning points of interest like an updated Lucky Landing, Loot Island which is likely a floating island, and Tilted Towers (but that one’s just speculation at this point).

Chapter 4 Season 1’s dirt bikes will stick around, but they’re expected to get a futuristic reskin. The Battle Bus will get a new look as well.

Season 2 will also bring a bunch of new skins, along with their associated emotes and cosmetic items. Most notably, Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan will be available as part of the Battle Pass, most likely to correspond to the final season’s part 3 release.

Eren is expected arrive along with his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear that should work like Chapter 3’s web-shooters.

A bit later, expect Resident Evil 4’s Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield to show up — probably around the remake’s release on March 24.

Also watch out for two Star Wars skins and some Force powers to go with them.

Season 2 is also expected to bring an official first-person mode to Fortnite.

Update (March 10): The release section has been updated with news the season is now live.

Update (March 9): This page was updated to reflect the estimated release time based on official downtime news, as well as the latest roster of character / skin teasers for the new season.