Fortnite down: Servers go offline as battle royale game update adds drivable cars

Fortnite servers are experiencing downtime in order to implement the latest patch 13.40 for the hit battle royale game.

Developers Epic Games announced the downtime yesterday, which will facilitate the introduction of drivable vehicles into the game.

Update 13.40, known as the Joy Ride Patch, is being added to the game starting at 9am BST on 5 August 2020.

Fortnite revealed on Twitter that the update would introduce “another wave of Summer Splash LTMs and more”.

The Summer Splash theme was added at the start of Fornite chapter two, season three, and brought the ability to ride around on sharks, along with a host of new character skins, weapons and much more.

The Joy Ride Patch is launched today on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch consoles, as well as PC and mobile.

It has not been announced how long the servers will be down in order to update the game, although updates typically last around a couple of hours.

While vehicles have been available in Fortnite in previous iterations, the return of drivable cars is something that many Fortnite fans have been clamouring to see for a while.

The advertising for the update has included depictions of several types of vehicles, from cars to larger road vehicles like trucks.

Data miners have suggested that cars could be highly effective at breaking down structures. They will allow players to navigate the island with much greater speed, although in Fortnite, cars require regular fuel injections, which can open players up to enemy attack.

Fortnite‘s new update coincides with the launch of a new update of rival multiplayer phenomenon Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which launches today.

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