Fortnite Ballistic is the battle royale's first 5v5 FPS mode coming in just a few days, and it's aiming for a piece of Counter-Strike's pie

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Key art for Fortnite Ballistic, the game's first first-person mode.
(Image credit: Epic Games)

After some minor leakage, Fortnite's long-awaited and much-hyped first FPS 5v5 mode is coming in hot next week - and it sounds like Epic Games' own take on Counter-Strike's tug-of-war matches.

Epic Games has just unveiled Fortnite Ballistic, a 5v5 competitive mode played entirely in first-person for the first time in the battle royale's seven year history, dropping in an 'early access' state on December 11. In this case, early access just means that Ballistic will have one map at launch and a more limited set of weapons and items to play with, though as expected, the developers plan to "make adjustments based on player feedback and add new maps, weapons, and features" over time.

Despite launching in an early access state, Fortnite Ballistic will still offer both Ranked and Unranked modes for those who don't want to get too sweaty. "Unranked play offers a more casual Ballistic experience and has backfill for players who drop from matches," a press release explains. "Ranked play is for those who want to test their talents against other players in a more competitive environment – the winning team gains rank and the losing team loses rank." You can read all about the mode and its rules over on Epic Games' official blog.

Fortnite’s permanent OG mode will preserve “some of the rough edges” from the classic battle royale era, but certain quality-of-life improvements have also made the cut. 

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.