Fortnite‘s Comet Foreshadows Coming Changes, Including a New Map

An April Fool’s joke that came and went might have more realistic implications for Fortnite than players initially expected. The comet that appeared in the game’s sky over the weekend didn’t land on Tilted Towers on April 1, like many theorized, but it has been getting closer on a daily basis, growing in size with every shop update.

That comet is getting bigger and its true the first pic was from yesterday and the one next to it is from today seems like everytime the shop updates it gets bigger #fortnitepic.twitter.com/iPjy4Z245D

— SmugDeer© (@SmugDeerVelvet) April 2, 2018

The theory of its impact on the Tilted Towers area of Fortnite’s only map spawned from the community’s translation of random controller vibrations to morse code, spelling out the message SOS D 5 418. D 5 are the coordinates for Tilted Towers on the game’s map, SOS is a well known distress signal and 418 was interpreted as a reference to the date April 1, 2018. All of this led players to believe the comet would land on Tilted Towers on April 1, leading to a change in the game’s map.

That didn’t happen, but a recent GamesRadar interview with Fortnite’s lead designer Eric Williamson confirmed that some form of change is coming. When asked about implementing another map into the game, Williamson said, “We’ve discussed it internally. It’s probably not a question of if, but certainly a question of when.” The closing-in comet is the latest harbinger of this upcoming change.

Williamson also confirmed that his team wasn’t currently preparing anything new at that time, but the Fortnite team has shown a propensity for working rather quickly compared to other development cycles. It is feasible that the team now has something in the works, almost three weeks since Williamson’s statement.

For now, Tilted Towers still stands and the game’s map remains unchanged, except for an ever-encroaching light in the sky that bears the markings of destruction and evolution.