'Fortnite' 14 Days of Summer Start Time Brings the Biggest Event Ever

The biggest ongoing event ever executed in Fortnite: Battle Royale was 14 Days of Fortnite, the holiday-themed winter event that ran in December 2018, but details revealed by Epic Games Monday for 14 Days of Summer already make it look like the game’s most ambitious event yet. Starting Tuesday, 14 Days of Summer will bring an overwhelming number of limited-time modes, challenges, weapons, and exclusive summer skins to the game.

Epic Games released a short teaser video Monday morning to celebrate the event’s launch, and it teases, “New surprises. Free rewards. Every day!” Epic Games did confirm in a tweet that the event won’t begin until Tuesday, June 25. Official patch notes go into even greater detail about what players can expect.

Every day, players can expect the following

• A weapon unvaulted for 24 hours only.
• A new LTM to play
• A daily challenge and free reward.
• New outfits and more in the Item Shop.

Fortnite: Creative will have a new featured island every day during 14 Days of Summer, and over in Fortnite: Save the World, players can complete 14 quests “to unlock a new explosive weapon.” The most enticing part of 14 Days of Summer, however, is how much the game will change on a daily basis.

Fortnite’s vast list of vaulted weapons currently includes the classic pump shotgun, revolver, dual pistols, compact LMG, and boom bow. Epic Games isn’t always transparent about why specific items get vaulted, but it tends to happen in an effort to balance the meta of the game. Casually unvaulting unbalanced weapons will lead to a fun amount of chaos in Fortnite, which could in turn wreak havoc on the game’s esports scene. (I’ve previously argued that Fortnite has an identity crisis for this very reason.)

Fortnite World Cup Finals won’t occur until the weekend of July 26 to 28, and even the upcoming trios tournament in mid-July won’t be affected by the celebration.

Polygon reports that all Epic Games employees are on a mandatory two-week vacation during 14 Days of Summer, so everything has been set in motion ahead of time for things to randomize every day. We won’t know what weapons get unvaulted until that actually happens on Tuesday. Epic Games also didn’t confirm the exact start time of the event, but it could be 4 a.m., 9 a.m., or 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

LTMs during 14 Days of Summer will rotate randomly each day and include modes from the following list:

• Heavy Metal Squads — only weapons with “Heavy” in their name spawn; faster metal farming rates; faster storm times
• Storm Chasers: Surfin’ (Squads) — everyone deploys to a vehicle; impulse grenades drip into your inventory
• Splashdown Squads — eliminate enemies with new water balloon item
• Power Up Solos — max shields increase every time you consume a shield; increased shield drops
• Leave None Behind Duos — slurp effect up when both players alive; downed players become invulnerable and active players take damage over time instead of slurp
• Use With Care Duos — spawn with set amount of building materials; cannot harvest more
• Headshots Duos — only headshots deal damage; no shotguns
• Tank Battle Squads — greatly increased starting health and shields; siphon active, allowing health/shield regain upon getting an elimination
• Builders Paradise Squads — resource gathering increased; structure health GREATLY increased
• Wick’s Bounty Duos — spawn with weapons and 3 lives; eliminate enemies and gather their coins
• Arsenal (Solos) — start with best weapons in the game; after every elimination, weapons get worse
• Rumble Squads — all weapons are green or better; respawning turned on
• Loadout Swap Squads — on a set timer, all players are granted the same random loadout
• Strategic Structures Squads — metal and stone harvest rate and structure health increased; but overall building material capacity decreased

These LTMs offer a wide variety of special games. Some of them are brand-new to Fortnite and others we’ve seen before. The fan-favorite John Wick game mode returning will probably excite many fans, but this LTM assortment has something for everyone.

For many Fortnite fans, the 14 Days of Summer daily challenges could be a big draw. Early leaks hint at a ton of new summer-themed objects or decorations in-game, namely beach parties, giant beach balls, party balloon decorations, unicorn floaties, fireworks, grills, and more. So the entire map could be getting a makeover similar to Fortnitemares and/or 14 Days of Fortnite

Throughout 14 Days of Summer, plenty of unique skins will also hit the Item Shop, including the Brite Bomber variant featured above, and who knows how many others? Fortnite fans are in for a lot of summer fun.

14 Days of Summer should run from June 25 to July 9.