Fortnite Party Royale is Epic Games' solution to a time of widespread social distancing, and it kicks off this Friday, May 8, with a huge celebration. Though players can already jump into the new Party Royale mode, they're encouraged to show up this Friday at 9 pm Eastern for DJ sets by Dillon Francis, Steve Aoki, and Deadmau5. Like Epic Games did with the Travis Scott concert two weeks ago, players who miss the show that night can return for an encore on Saturday, May 9 at 5 pm Eastern.
In Party Royale, weapons and building are disabled and the game's map plays host to a big party for players to meet and greet while safely socially distancing. The mode will likely live on long past coronavirus - we'd certainly hope so - but it comes at an opportune time when so many are yearning for the social bonds we can't safely engage in right now.
As you can see in the new trailer below, Party Royale mode offers a host of mini-games, almost like a county fair, with archery, kite-flying, and seemingly some racing events. There's no pressure to survive and outwit opponents, it's all just in good fun as part of Epic's new mode that will live alongside its other tentpole features like Battle Royale, Creative, and Save The World mode, which remains the only section of the game that players must pay to access, though the plan is for it to eventually go free to play - whenever the eternal beta period ends, anyway.
All players who log into the game between Friday at 6 pm Eastern and Monday at 10 am Eastern will immediately earn a new cosmetic item in the form of Neon Wings Back Bling to use when customizing their loadout in Fortnite's ever-colorful, increasingly wild world. The backpack offers a special feature of reacting to music too, so they'd make a great accessory for this Friday's show.
Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2 remains active after getting extended through mid-June. Though the cause was not expressly stated, it's assumed the extension was given as Epic Games continues to work from home, as much of the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
