Epic teases upcoming Fortnite Battle Royale changes in a new developer video

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Epic Games has dropped a new Fortnite Battle Royale developer update video that offers a look at the coming map update, which will include changes to biomes to make them feel more distinct from one another, and information on what's going to happen to all that Christmas tree loot when the event ends. (Short answer: It's all going away.)

"With the end of the holiday event we're going to be removing the Christmas trees and the treasure chests that spawn next to them," Epic's Eric Williamson says in the video.

"This is for two reasons. The first reason is, the event is over. The second reason is, with all of the additional points of interest on the map update, we've got a lot more treasure chests, a lot more ammo crates, and we wanted to make sure that loot was distributed evenly, so that there isn't too much additional rare loot in the match."

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Epic will keep an eye on things following the update, and will make adjustments where necessary. Williamson said it's also possible that Epic will add other event-specific chests in the future.

The map update itself will add new POIs and also named areas on the west side of the map, which Eric said is currently "a little bit light on points of interest." The new POIs should "even the island out, and make it feel like there are more locations to drop into."

The map's individual biomes are also being more clearly defined. "The swamp feels swampier, the mountains feel more mountainy," Williamson said. "Really, the different areas of the map feel more unique."

The Fortnite Battle Royale map update is due to go live next week.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.