Update: Added comment from Epic Games.
Earlier in June, Epic Games confirmed Fortnite was due to launch this summer, putting an end to speculation that the project had been quietly shelved. Now, retailer listings have offered some more information about the title’s retail release, which is being brought about in conjunction with Gearbox Software and Koch Media.
The retail version of Fortnite is due to release on July 21 in Europe, four days ahead of its digital debut, according to a report from Gamespot. A listing on the Gamestop online store suggests that the same scheduling will be in effect for its launch in North America.
This is quite unusual, as Fortnite is part of Epic Games’ ongoing free-to-play initiative. This means that if players are willing to wait a while, they would be able to try out the game without parting with their cash — although, of course, they would be subject to some of the standard limitations that are associated with this business model.
The retail version of Fortnite gives players access to the Founder’s Pack, which grants access to the game on July 21, as well as some other in-game bonuses. Digital copies of the game grant entry to what is being billed as a paid early-access period, which begins on July 25, but anyone who pre-orders digitally can also start playing on July 21. Epic Games previously confirmed that the game will go free-to-play sometime in 2018.
“We are offering our Deluxe Edition Founder’s Pack, which costs $60, at both digital and retail stores because we know some people like to purchase their games physically,” executive producer Zak Phelps told Digital Trends. “They both get the same benefits and exclusive items only available in Founder’s Packs. Aside from Early Access to Fortnite and special in-game events this year, we’ve jammed tons of items, Heroes and loot pinatas (our loot crates) into every Founder’s Pack.”
Early access can be a thorny issue among gaming circles and as a result, Fortnite looks set to cause some controversy. The base edition of the game is priced at $40, while the physical version costs $60, which is not exactly cheap for an unproven early-access title that will go free-to-play within the next 18 months.
Of course, it is likely that Epic Games will give early adopters some kind of reward once the game transitions to a free-to-play format. However, it is easy to look at this move as a cash-grab intended to fund the final stages of the long-gestating project’s development, given that it was first unveiled in 2011.
Fortnite could still turn out to be an engrossing multiplayer experience but there are some major questions lingering about its early-access release.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.