Epic Games removes Early Access label from Fortnite

Fortnite is no longer in Early Access. The game had that label for three years, but that was mainly due to the Save the World part, which is hardly played compared to Battle Royale. Epic says Save the World is now finished, no more major updates coming.

Epic originally released Fortnite as a paid PVE game titled Fortnite Save The World. That game was described by the makers as ‘a cross between Minecraft and Left 4 Dead’. In 2017, Fortnite Save the World became available through Early Access, and Epic then said the plan was for the game in its final form to become free-to-play a year later.

A few months after the release of the paid version of Fortnite, Epic added the free-to-play Battle Royale mode to the game. That pvp part became hugely popular in a short time and still is. Now Epic says the Save the World portion is finished and with it the Early Access label disappears. The plan to make the pve part free has been dropped. Gamers have to pay if they want to play that part. The price has been lowered to $20.

New content development for Save the World will slow down after its official release, Epic says. However, a new seasonal activity is coming to the game, called Ventures. This should promote long-term replayability. Those Ventures allow players to earn materials to upgrade items. The Ventures will be in a rotation alongside existing events like Frostnite and Dungeons.