Fortnite Leaving Early Access, Save the World Not Going Free to Play

It’s easy to forget that when Epic Games’ Fortnite launched in July 2017, it was with a PvE mode called Save the World. It was in paid early access but the plan was to release it as a free to play title down the line. Of course, then Fortnite Battle Royale arrived and took over the industry. Now, several years later, Fortnite is leaving early access (which includes the battle royale mode).

However, Save the World will not be going free to play. It will instead remain a paid experience with all Founder’s Pack owners receiving a free upgrade for additional rewards. Ultimate Edition owners will receive a new skin pack (Metal Team Leader) and 8,000 V-Bucks. Unfortunately, Epic Games is slowing development of new content once Save the World officially launches.

Also, any skins acquired in Fortnite Battle Royale in the future won’t be supported in Save the World (though players will be notified beforehand when this happens). To keep players going, Ventures are being introduced. These are season-long endeavors which provide different modifiers for a specific zone. Completing challenges in this will influence difficulty, weapons obtained and Supercharger materials for upgrading current weapons beyond their current level cap.

Check out the full blog post for more details on how seasons will work in Save the World going forward and stay tuned in the meantime.