Following Fortnite’s Rocket Launch, Cracks Have Appeared In The Sky [Update]

Update: More rifts continue to appear in various areas across Fortnite. Most notably, a second enormous crack is now visible in the sky over the island, while another smaller rift also appears to be forming near Retail Row. We’ve added screenshots of these to the gallery below. The original story follows.

As teased, players who jumped into Fortnite: Battle Royale this past weekend got to witness a world-changing event: the launch of the Evil Lair’s rocket, which resulted in a mysterious rift appearing in the sky over the island. It’s unclear just what this strange development means for the future of the game, but it isn’t the only consequence of the event, as additional rifts have also begun appearing in various portions of the map.

Following the rocket launch, players have begun noticing what appear to be dimensional tears across the island. The most obvious is the giant crack that appeared in the sky shortly after the rocket took off, but several smaller rifts have also started to pop up in various places around the island in the days since the event–some of which appear to be growing in size.

As you can see in the screenshots below, additional rifts can now be found near Lonely Lodge and Tomato Town. According to PC Gamer, the former was barely visible when it first materialized, but it has since grown and replaced the sign that was once outside of the building, suggesting that the rift is consuming nearby objects as it expands.

It remains to be seen whether or not more rifts will develop as we approach Season 5 of Fortnite, which is slated to kick off next week, but they’ll undoubtedly play a major role in setting the stage for the new season. Epic heralded the arrival of Season 4 in a similar manner. In the weeks leading up to the season, a mysterious comet appeared in the sky over the map. The comet would eventually crash into the island at the start of the season, altering the landscape in the process and introducing new elements like Hop Rocks to the game.

Season 5 of Fortnite is scheduled to begin on Thursday, July 12, at 1 AM PDT / 4 AM EDT / 9 AM BST / 6 PM AET. In the meantime, players can still complete this season’s challenges to level up their Battle Pass and unlock any remaining rewards. If you need help completing the challenges, be sure to check out our full Season 4 challenge guide.