'Fortnite' Nintendo Switch Release Date: E3 2018 Leak Hints at Big Reveal

Hold onto your hats: It looks like Epic Games’ battle royale spectacular Fortnite is coming to Nintendo Switch. A leak posted on 4Chan’s video games board Thursday night, which suggested the game would appear at the E3 conference alongside eight other games, came just before more reports emerged Friday that the game would receive a port to the Nintendo hybrid console.

The leak, posted to 4Chan’s “/v/“ board, claims “a friend whose job is making showroom displays” shared the image of Fortnite on the Switch alongside FIFA 19, Overcooked 2, Mario Tennis Aces and more. The Switch port also emerged after a Korean ratings board released a rating for the game on Friday. Eurogamer claimed on Friday that the 4Chan list is legitimate, and players can expect a port soon. In many ways, it’s to be expected — Fortnite Battle Royale has made its way to Windows, macOS, PS4, Xbox One, iOS and Android, leaving the Nintendo Switch as the standout major gaming platform yet to receive a version.

The news comes after the version 4.3 software update for Fortnite went live. The update makes a number of changes to the key game, including the return of the refund system and a new shopping cart. Epic Games also moved the Weekly Challenges launch to Thursdays from this week, allowing the developers time to fix any issues after the regular patch goes live on Wednesday.

If the rumors come true, one of the fastest-growing games will launch on one of the fastest-growing consoles. Fortnite claimed a staggering 3.4 million concurrent players back in February, beating PUBG’s record of 3.3 million simultaneous players. The Switch has also set the world on fire: as of March 2018, just one year after launch, the console had sold 17.8 million units, far surpassing the Wii U’s 13.5 million units in its total lifetime since it launched in 2012.

All eyes are on Nintendo’s E3 2018 livestreamed conference, set to start on June 12 at 9 a.m. Pacific time. The company is inviting fans to watch live from its website.

With this week’s announcement of Pokémon Lets Go, the Switch could be about to get even bigger.