Skip to main content

Epic Games just gave Fortnite veterans the best gift: permanent OG mode

Fortnite characters gather around a blue box.
Epic Games

If you’re a long-time Fortnite player who can’t stop asking where Tilted Towers disappeared to, this update is for you. Epic is bringing back Fortnite OG — this time, for good. The game mode will cycle through the game’s first season and let players revisit their favorite locations and loot just as they remember it from way back in 2017.

And when Epic Games says it’s going back, it means all the way back. The mode will initially go through the seasons of Chapter 1, including all the loot changes and feature introductions. Think of it something like a crash course in the evolution of Fortnite; you can experience it just as players did back then and learn as you go. As a veteran of those early battle royale years, I can promise it was a vastly different experience than it is now.

Recommended Videos

Despite its return to form, the game mode will retain all of the quality-of-life updates that have been added over the years. Building mechanics will match what you can play in the main Battle Royale mode today, and movement mechanics like sprint, slide, mantle, and door bash remain in place. You’ll even be able to move while healing (and that’s a welcome change after becoming intimately familiar with what a sitting duck feels like.)

Fortnite's original map appears on a blue background.
Epic Games

OK, so it’s not strictly a return to the original, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The charm of the game’s early rough edges will return, like Reboot Vans, the glare from a sniper scope, double pump for shotguns, and more.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

If you’re construction-adverse, you’ll still be able to play Zero Build (now with added traversal options to help you get around the map).

Of course, it wouldn’t truly be Fortnite without a battle pass. The Fortnite OG Pass has 45 different tiers of rewards, all throwbacks to the first season, and you have until January 31, 2025, to work on earning every reward. Seems a little short? That’s because it is. Seasons won’t last as long in Fortnite OG as they do in standard gameplay modes.

Fortnite OG will be playable starting on December 6, and season 1 will end at the end of January.

Patrick Hearn
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…
Lego Fortnite is getting a massive update, including a new game mode
Characters fishing in LEGO Fortnite.

Fortnite's various Lego modes have been around for just under a year, but they remain some of the most popular choices for players. With the one-year anniversary coming up, Epic Games announced a series of significant changes coming to the game type.

To begin with, Lego Fortnite will be renamed Lego Fortnite Odyssey. That's because Lego Fortnite will become the hub for anything Lego-related within the Fortnite ecosystem and provide players with an easy way to start up any Lego game mode.

Read more
Fortnite faces community backlash over the addition of bots in OG mode
Fortnite battle bus.

The recent launch of Fortnite OG shot the battle royale title back up the top of the charts, not that it ever really loosened the chokehold it has on the gaming community — and then the launch of the game's first-person mode further stoked the flames. One recent change is not as welcome, however. Fortnite recently shared a post on X detailing the addition of Duos mode, as well as "matchmaking improvements in all Fortnite OG playlists." That doesn't sound like a red flag ... until you read the comment section of the post.

Fortnite OG playlists just received bots, and players are taking that change about as well as they took the addition of No Build mode. In other words, it created a heck of a lot of controversy. The new bots aren't overly aggressive, and therein lies the issue: They present no challenge. Player complaints are that the bots move slowly, make decisions that get them killed, and much more, according to PCGamesN.

Read more
Fortnite is finally getting a first-person mode next week
Key art for Fortnite's new first person shooter mode Ballistic.

Fortnite Ballistic, the long-awaited first-person mode for Epic Games' hit battle royale shooter Fortnite, will finally come to the game on December 11.

Epic Games first teased a first-person Fortnite mode in March, but now we have a clearer idea of how it will play. Ballistic is a round-based 5v5 mode with no respawns, similar to competitive shooters like Valorant or Spectre Divide. A team of attackers fights to plant and detonate a Rift Point Device in certain spots on the map, while defenders fight to eliminate the other team before they can do the same. While attackers and defenders will swap their roles after six rounds, Ballistic matches are a best-of-seven affair across both ranked and unranked play.

Read more