Fortnite reportedly switching to Unreal Engine 5 with Season 9

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The switch might not happen until 2022

A line-up of Fortnite characters from the latest season
(Image credit: Epic Games)

Fortnite will reportedly switch to Unreal Engine 5 with the arrival of Season 9.

The claim comes from Hypex, a known Fortnite leaker and dataminer. In a message shared on Twitter, Hypex claimed that Fortnite would be transferring to run on the new-gen Unreal Engine 5 at some point during Season 9, as the previously-planned Season 8 switch has been delayed.

We've actually known for a while now that Epic wants to switch Fortnite to run on the Unreal Engine 5. When the impressive new engine was first unveiled in June 2020, Epic stated in a blog post that it would first be launching Fortnite on the forthcoming PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S consoles later in the year, before turning its attention to porting the game to Unreal Engine 5. 

At the time, Epic revealed that it was aiming to bring Fortnite to Unreal Engine 5 in "mid-2021." However, this no longer appears to be the case, as we're now counting down the days until September, meaning Fortnite's switch to the new engine might have been delayed twice now, if the report from Hypex is accurate.

If the claim does prove to be true, we'll still be waiting a fair few months for Fortnite's big engine change. Right now, we're in the midst of Fortnite Season 7, and Epic hasn't even revealed the release date for Season 8 yet. Considering Fortnite's seasonal events can last upwards of three months, the switch to Unreal Engine 5 might not even come about until 2022.

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Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.