Fortnite Season 3 and 'The Device' live event have been postponed

(Image credit: Epic Games)

Epic Games has announced that, as a result the ongoing protests against police violence and racism across the US and around the world, Fortnite's "The Device" live event, and the start of Fortnite Season 3, have been delayed.

"Recent events are a heavy reminder of ongoing injustices in society, from the denial of basic human rights to the impact of racism both overt and subtle against people of color. We're acutely aware of the pain our friends, families, team members, players, and communities are experiencing," Epic wrote.

"We believe in equality and justice, diversity and inclusion, and that these fundamentals are above politics. The team is eager to move Fortnite forward, but we need to balance the Season 3 launch with time for the team to focus on themselves, their families, and their communities."

The Device live event is now scheduled to take place on June 15, while the start of Fortnite Season 3, which had been set for June 6, will happen on June 17.

The ongoing protests, many of which have been met with violence by police and National Guard units, were sparked by the May 25 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. After three days of protests, Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, but those charges were upgraded today to second-degree murder. The three officers who witnessed Chauvin killing Floyd, but did not intervene—Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao—have also now been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Andy Chalk

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.