Today, Fortnite is going offline for update 1c6. Among other things, it adds gadgets like the double back scratcher, whose hands cover your eyes so enemies can’t see you anymore. Our live blog brings you piles of social media reposts—and tells you, via somebody else, when Fortnite is back online!

Thursday, 04/30/2026

• 6:00 a.m.

  Good morning and welcome to our live blog for today’s Fortnite downtime! I’m already excited for the usual zero comments from our community!

• 6:02 a.m.

  Let’s kick things off with a fun fact: if you Google "Fortnite down," the official server status is the very first result. So you could just check there to see when the game is back online.

• 6:03 a.m.

  So, really: why are you here? Because the official site has fewer cookies than we do? Let us know in the comments!

• 6:10 a.m.

  Yes, it’s true: Fortnite will be offline for several hours today. Since that usually happens early in the morning, don’t be surprised if your teacher uses the downtime to get to know you and your classmates a little better.

• 6:12 a.m.

  Since teachers mostly speak some kind of offline language, you might not understand what your instructor is saying. In that case, we recommend a friendly nod (quickly up first, then slowly down, then back up again).

• 7:00 a.m.

  Fortnite is still online.

• 8:00 a.m.

  For anyone still parked in front of Fortnite, we just happened to find a great deal! With the feather hammer below, you can let off steam after losing a match. No more smashed phones, consoles, or keyboards!

  Click this link to check out this totally random deal we found!

  

• 9:00 a.m.

  Fortnite is still online. Don’t forget to refresh this page regularly to find out when Fortnite goes offline.

• 10:00 a.m.

  BREAKING: Fortnite is now offline! Please note that an emotional support hotline has been set up for affected players: 1-800-NO-BUILD.

• 10:05 a.m.

  Fortnite is offline, as the official Fortnite Status account on X has now confirmed. The Guardian and The New York Times have also pushed out matching live updates.

• 10:12 a.m.

  With downtime underway, passionate gamer Elon Musk is going off on X. In one post, the tech billionaire threatened to atomize Mars ("I’ll nuke Mars!") unless Fortnite was brought back online immediately.

• 10:30 a.m.

  Fortnite is still offline—NASA has registered several nuclear missile launches in Hawthorne, California, home to SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space company. Our reporter on the ground confirmed NASA’s report with this photo:

  

• 11:00 a.m.

  On X, Epic Games seems oddly unfazed by all this. Three minutes ago, the official Fortnite account posted more details about update 1c6—will the new content be enough to calm Elon Musk down?

• 11:05 a.m.

  BREAKING: There’s a new Star Wars loading screen (see below)! With it, Epic has finally revealed why the franchise stayed away from cinemas for so long.

  Apparently, the key Star Wars characters were abducted by a red fish, who kept them trapped in a gigantic dumpster for seven years. No wonder Vader, Leia, and the gang are now bursting out of their prison, furious and firing wildly.

  

• 11:07 a.m.

  According to the official Fortnite account on X, update 1c6 also adds the Useless Box (below). When your character flips its switch, the lid opens and a finger shoots out to flip the switch back. The box closes again.

  

• 12:00 p.m.

  Going by past downtime, Fortnite should be about ready to come back online. But we still don’t know when the servers will be up and running again.

• 12:10 p.m.

  The official channels haven’t said whether maintenance has run into any problems. We’re guessing you’ll be able to play again within the next hour at the latest.

• 12:25 p.m.

  Fortnite is still offline.

• 12:45 p.m.

  There’s currently no word on whether maintenance has run into any problems.

• 1:00 p.m.

  We’re guessing you’ll be able to play again within the next hour at the latest. No new information has supported our previous guess.

• 4:00 p.m.

  Fortnite is offline. We know nothing.

• 8:00 p.m.

  Fortnite is offline. We know nothing.

• 11:30 p.m.

  Fortine is offlien. We knwo nothign.

• 11:47 p.m.

  Forti is onffline, stil don’t kn5&$U§§%HGGDBDDDDNNN—

  Update: Our live blog editor is now asleep on the F5 key.

Friday, 05/01/2026

• 6:00 a.m.

  Good morning! Unfortunately, our browser had a cache issue. Fortnite has been back online since 1 p.m. yesterday! Since there’s no point covering the remaining update content now, we’re ending the live coverage here and wishing you one hell of a Fortnite day!

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