What is Fortnite Close Encounters mode and how to access it

If you're wonder how to access Fortnite Close Encounters, then you've probably gone to finish off any remaining quests for that particular game more before the countdown timers expire and discovered that it has disappeared prematurely, leaving you stuck with the message "not available in the current match" against them. This isn't great news if you want to add some more XP to your total in Fortnite, and is likely an issue that arose as part of the update set live earlier today. If you're still trying to clear those Fortnite Close Encounters Quests off your list, then here's what you need to know.

How to access Fortnite Close Encounters mode

Initially the Fortnite Close Encounters mode was unavailable in the game, which meant it couldn't be accessed to take on these quests. It was possible to find a version of Close Encounters by searching for Island Code 4000-2741-0286 in the Discovery page, but matchmaking wasn't working for this and you need the specific 'By Epic' tagged version anyway for the quests to count. This issue was fixed via the Discover page, but as of February 15 it appears the official version of Fortnite Close Encounters under the 'By Epic' heading has been removed before the quest timers expired.

Fortnite Close Encounters Quests

Once you'd selected the official Fortnite Close Encounters mode from the Discovery page, you could take on the three quests associated with it which are listed below:

Eliminate two player opponents within 30 seconds of each other in Close Encounters (1)
Get an elimination with 10 or fewer players remaining in Close Encounters (1)
Deal damage to opponents from above in Close Encounters (100)

Beating these awarded you with 12K, 14K, and 10K XP respectively, with an 18K XP bonus for completing all three Fortnite Close Encounters Quests. This meant a cool 54K XP could be earned in total, but at the time of writing it is not impossible to complete these quests as the game mode has been removed early. It's not clear at this point whether Epic will extend the timer for the quests and reinstate Close Encounters so players can finish them off, or they may just disappear for good.