Fortnite Battle Royale now has a 50v50 mode, and it looks ridiculous

Announced at The Game Awards, a new 50 versus 50 mode is now available to play in Fortnite Battle Royale. The catch is it's only there until December 17. It's leading off a new wave of timed events—timed, likely because making a refined, balanced 50v50 mode would require way more legwork than is worthwhile. Broken, experimental game modes as a temporary diversion from the usual free-for-all are a perfect fit for Fortnite's more playful battle royale arena.

A few minor changes will accompany the mode, including chevrons above all allied players, no splash damage (bummer!), and the ability to revive any down-but-not-out player on your team, even if they're not part of your squad. To get an idea of the kind of chaos 50-player teams on a massive map, armed with bush potions, launch pads, and rideable-rockets can get up to, check out the trailer above. Alternatively, it's not hard to imagine.

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Epic also announced they hit a new record of 1.3 million concurrent players across all platforms, and 30 million unique players across Fortnite's lifetime since its launch in early access in July. While we can't pull the PC-specific counts out, those totals are still massive. This battle royale thing shows no signs of slowing down.

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles.