Fortnite Driftboards delayed as Epic works on improvements for the new vehicle

Update: A last-minute delay means Fortnite Driftboards still aren't in the game despite update 7.10 going live. Epic says it delayed Driftboards to focus on "quality of life improvements" and to make sure the new vehicle meets player expectations. Bummer. But better to have a great experience later than a so-so one now.

See more

Original story: Fortnite Driftboards look like they'll be a somewhat, if not totally, tubular new vehicle when Fortnite 7.10 rolls out on Tuesday. The snowboard-inspired craft was teased on the in-game newsfeed for some players (via Fortnite Intel), and Epic Games announced on Twitter when you'll be able to start carving up the slopes with the latest update: December 18 at 5am ET / 2am PT / 10 am GMT.

See more

Driftboards will be the second new vehicle to arrive in Fortnite season 7 after the planes that quickly taught players to fear death from above. Now folks who prefer to keep their feet on the ground (or at least close to it) will have something new to play with as well. Epic is keeping gameplay details for Driftboards quiet right now, but the news feed teaser revealed at least two key details: "Hop on board and boost past your competition with this new single player vehicle."

So it can boost, and it can only carry one player at a time - sensible, because that board would get pretty crowded otherwise. It looks like a high-tech snowboard but I doubt Epic would add a new vehicle that could only be used on snow and going downhill. As if the term "hoverboard" didn't justify itself in any context, this teaser from back before season 7 arrived makes it look like there's some floaty zooming going on. Plus, Fortnite: Save the World has had hoverboards of its own for a while now.

See more

After the Infinity Blade came in with a bang and went out with a "sorry", Fortnite could use something fun and fresh for everybody to get behind. Assuming they control well and aren't too hard to come by, Driftboards could be just the holly jolly crowd pleaser we need.

Read our Fortnite quadcrasher locations guide if you want to get some practice for boosting around the map. 

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.