Is Fortnite Battle Royale about to get hit by a comet? These fans have some detailed theories

The Fortnite comet just off the side of the battle bus.

The next time you have a few spare seconds between bashing trees and shotgunning fools in Fortnite Battle Royale, cast your gaze toward the stars. There's something new up there! Epic quietly snuck another celestial body into the skies of Fortnite a few weeks ago, and now it seems to be getting bigger. Theorists on Reddit's Fortnite Battle Royale subforum have all kinds of ideas about what this potential impact event could mean.

I can't say with 100 percent certainty that the glowing object in the sky is a comet headed straight for the uncannily diverse island that is Fortnite Battle Royale's known world. But look at this screenshot posted by Reddit user Niccorazi-_- a few days before Fortnite update 3.4 went live.

Then compare that to this screenshot I just grabbed this morning.

It looks bigger and better defined, don't you think? What was once a bright blob now has a crescent shape on the bottom right and a wider aura on the top left - suggesting a leading edge and following trail, respectively. The trail is subtly animated in-game as well, making it seem even more comet-y. Cometous? Com-edic?

Niccorazi-_- also made the key observation that the latest set of Fortnite Battle Pass challenges include an objective to head to mountain summits, some of which have new (non-usable) telescopes. In the video game business they call that "signposting", AKA using parts of the world to non-verbally say "Hey, look over there!" Or "up there" in this case.

I'd worry about everybody hoarding supplies and turning on each other in the threat of this seemingly apocalyptic event… but that's just a normal day in Fortnite Battle Royale, so I don't think anyone would notice a difference. Some players are hopeful that the comet will crash down and change the map, most likely to coincide with the arrival of Season 4 in about a month. The most popular theory is that the comet will land directly on the love-to-hate-it Tilted Towers region (infamous for attracting droves of bloodthirsty newbies), transforming it into - wait for it - Crispy Crater.

That's 100-percent conjecture of course - the comet could land anywhere on the map. Or maybe it won't crash down at all, instead passing just close enough to serve as Battle Royale's first all-new map since launch. Space-jumping around on an icy comet, bashing down alien architecture… It'd be a great opportunity for Epic to finally put that jetpack in, too. Until we find out more, keep watching the skies.

Ready to delve into some more mysteries? Check out our deep dive into Fortnite Easter eggs and secrets.

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.