Is Fortnite Down? Here’s Why Servers Are Offline as Season 4: Override Arrives (UPDATED)

Editor’s Note: Epic Games has completed scheduled maintenance for Fortnite’s v42.00 update, bringing the game’s servers back online and allowing players to return to Chapter 7 Season 4: Override.

Fortnite went offline early Thursday as Epic Games began scheduled maintenance for the v42.00 update, which launches Chapter 7 Season 4: Override. Servers were expected to return around 7 a.m. ET, although the timing could change as maintenance continued.

Epic Takes Fortnite Offline For Update

Epic’s status page says downtime began at 2 a.m. ET, or 6 a.m. UTC, with matchmaking disabled 30 minutes earlier. Fortnite game services, login, matchmaking, parties, voice chat, stats, the Item Shop and several game modes remain under maintenance.

🆕 Break the rules. Change the game.

⏰ Downtime for v42.00 begins at 2 AM ET (6 AM UTC) with matchmaking ending shortly beforehand.https://t.co/9aeRju4Ctc https://t.co/cX3U2JbQTk

— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) August 19, 2026

"Downtime for v42.00 begins at 2 AM ET (6 AM UTC)," Fortnite Status said. Epic scheduled maintenance through 11 a.m. UTC, or 7 a.m. ET, making the outage planned rather than an unexpected service failure.

Override Brings Sonic And Gaming Crossovers

The update ends Chapter 7 Season 3: Runners and introduces Override under the tagline, "Break the rules. Change the game." Epic says Override Consoles can alter rules for an entire server, while rare Squad Overrides provide team-specific advantages.

Sonic the Hedgehog headlines the Battle Pass alongside a Tails Sidekick. Override also adds Green Hill Zone gameplay, Sonic’s Power Sneakers and Tetris Rifts. Epic says Pac-Man, Mega Man, Persona 5 Royal, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and Kingdom Hearts content will arrive throughout the season.

Fortnite Expands Beyond Battle Royale Roots

The launch extends Epic’s push to make Fortnite a broader gaming platform. Epic and Unity previously announced plans to bring Unity Software Inc. (NASDAQ:U) games into Fortnite, an ecosystem with more than 500 million registered accounts.

Fortnite also returned to Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) U.S. App Store in 2025 after nearly five years away, while Epic’s legal fight with Apple continues.

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