Fortnite season 8 is all about the cubes
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Kevin!
By Andrew Webster
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The alien invasion is over, and now Fortnite’s island is… full of cubes. Season 8 of the battle royale’s second chapter just launched and it’s called, simply, “Cubed.” The premise is pretty strange: according to developer Epic, the cubes that used to power the giant alien mothership have now been set free to wreak havoc on the island. As with all new seasons, the update means a combination of new characters, locations, weapons, and even portals to transport players to a monster-filled realm. The launch follows an explosive live event that took place over the weekend.
First, here’s the basic story, via Epic:
The alien and IO war is over, but a new war has taken shape, one where you’re a combatant. After Slone double-crossed you and left you to perish on the Mothership, the cubes that powered it are now free. These things are a bigger threat to the island than those aliens could’ve ever been. They have no face, no speech, but they’re sentient and have six sides of malice.
If you think the corruption they’ve caused is bad now, you have no idea what can happen if we let them stomp all over the island. It doesn’t matter if you were pro-alien or pro-IO, it’ll take all the help we can get to keep the island from falling. It’s up to everybody — including you — so take my information below and put it to good use.
The cubes also appear to be sentient now, which is fun.
(Longtime Fortnite fans will remember that cubes have always been an important part of the game’s lore, dating back to when Kevin rolled around the original island in 2018 before, well, melting.
)
The biggest change in chapter 8 appears to be a new element called “The Sideways,” which is described as a “dark, malevolent, monster-filled reality” which is spread by the cubes. Players can access it via portals — in addition to the monsters, it features low gravity and no building — and it will impact different island locations. Players will be able to get a new crafting component from these areas to create superpowered “sideways” weapons. This season also brings back some classic guns, including the automatic sniper rifle and harpoon gun.
There also appears to be a newfound focus on collaboration between players, who can now work together to enforce the island. Here’s how Epic describes it: “With fellow Loopers across the island, donate the bars you earn to construction sites where you want to see turret stations built up. In the future, we’ll need you to come together and decide which new weapons to develop, which ones to unvault, and more.”
Lastly, a new season means a new battle pass to purchase, and this time around that includes the addition of characters to unlock like Carnage, a monster hunter called Torin, and a soldier named J.
B. Chimpanski. Also, a buff unicorn called Fabio Sparklemane. Just look at this guy.
Season 7 originally kicked off in June, and aside from introducing aliens, it was pretty eventful, adding a new Among Us-style mode, an Ariana Grande concert, and characters ranging from Loki to LeBron James.
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Epic Games
Christopher Groux
Updated:
Originally Published:
Fortnite Season 8 is finally nearing its end, and that likely means an upcoming live event will obliterate the battle royale island. Epic has announced this isn’t just any old season-ending experience, because it could mark the end of Chapter 2 as we know it. Here’s everything we know about “The End.”
When is the
Fortnite Season 8 “The End” live event?
According to an official blog post from Epic Games, The End live event for Fortnite Season 8 is expected to take place on the afternoon of Saturday, December 4 at 4 p.m. Eastern.
Leaks from HYPEX claim the game will go offline until the morning of December 7. That being said, because HYPEX previously predicted the live event would be on December 5, it’s possible servers will return one day earlier on December 6.
You can see the aforementioned date and time in the lobby and near the cube pyramid at the center of the map.
You can see the countdown in the lobby and in-match towards the center of the island.Epic Games
Regardless of timing, it appears the infamous “Blackhole” that ended Chapter 1 will return in the final moments of Chapter 2. Fans will have to endure a few days without Fortnite, but what comes next should be worth the wait.
Is there a trailer for the Season 8 live event?
Yup! alongside the official announcement, Epic also released this short video teaser of a four-person squad preparing for battle against the Cube Queen. You can watch the clip below.
A teaser for the Fortnite Season 8 the End live event
What are the
Fortnite Season 8 live event leaks?
There’s not a lot of solid information out there at present.
There are a few tidbits that seem pretty predictable. As fans who’ve been following Season 8 closely will know, the Cubes have invaded Fortnite, and that mess will progress into the next few weeks.
As we can see from this image surfaced by leakers Zatheo and PeQu, the cube invasion is going to start looking pretty bad going forward.
The Cube invasion looks pretty dire by the end of Season 8.
This strength in numbers is the result of the Cube Queen summoning power from her pyramid found at the center of the map.
The Cube Pyramid will likely be a key factor in the Season 8 live event.Epic Games
Run the queen’s cackling sounds and laughter through a spectrogram, and you’ll see this image outlined by HYPEX. It appears the pyramid is surrounded by an electric current and is shooting bolts into the island. Is this her means of breaking through the ground to destroy the Zero Point that maintains reality inside the arena? That’s certainly a possibility.
If not, something like this will almost assuredly factor into the leadup to the event.
Is the Cube Queen about to shock the Island?
Given that Season 8 is supposedly the end of Chapter 2, it seems the Cubes and Cube Queen will at least partially succeed in their mission to disrupt reality. When unfolds, the force it unleashes will presumably be strong enough to take down Fortnite’s servers. The Season 8 launch trailer featured a brief glimpse of the Foundation, so might he somehow be responsible for saving the Island on the brink of extinction? That certainly sounds reasonable to us. Leaker iFireMonkey suggests the Foundation will have voice lines during the event.
To combat the good guys as the action unfolds, it’s said that the Last Reality will be able to eliminate players and that the Cube Queen herself will function as an NPC. Much like the previous fight against the aliens, it sure sounds like the Fortnite community will be confronting the Cubes to cap off Season 8.
