All Fortnite Seasons to Date: The Full Timeline and Info
Fortnite has come a long way since its first release. The storyline has gone to crazy places over the years. Fortnite all seasons are now broken up into chapters, with the season’s dates being closer together than you might realize. Huge changes constantly occur in the game, completely reworking how the title’s mechanics work and feel. Fortnite is known for adding in new elements only to take them away when a new season comes out. Each season is basically a brand-new game!
The current build of Fortnite has got the game divided into Creative, Battle Royale, Lego, Rocket Racing, and Festival. A very long way from where we started. How exactly did we get here, though? All of the Fortnite seasons have continued on the storyline, added new content, and their length and timeline might not be how you remember.
Fortnite Timeline
This is the rough Fortnite timeline, to show how we came from a small game in Season 1 to the juggernaut that Fortnite currently is now mid-way into a fifth Chapter. Along the way, we’ve had loads of expansions, with Fortnite becoming a platform for various experiences and even recently returning back to that early build for the Fortnite OG season! We went right back to the beginning just to then move on to maybe Epic’s biggest change to the game to date. Here are all the Fortnite seasons in order, and how long they’ve each lasted:
Season | Start Date | End Date | Length | Season No. |
---|---|---|---|---|
One | Oct 25 2017 | Dec 13 2017 | 50 days | 1 |
Two | Dec 14 2017 | Feb 21 2018 | 70 days | 2 |
Three | Feb 22 2018 | April 20 2018 | 58 days | 3 |
Four | May 1 2018 | July 12 2018 | 73 days | 4 |
Five | July 12 2018 | Sept 27 2018 | 78 days | 5 |
Six | Sept 27 2018 | Dec 6 2018 | 71 days | 6 |
Seven | Dec 6 2018 | Feb 28 2019 | 84 days | 7 |
Eight | Feb 28 2019 | May 9 2019 | 70 days | 8 |
Nine | May 9 2019 | Aug 1 2019 | 84 days | 9 |
Season X | Aug 1 2019 | Oct 13 2019 | 73 days | 10 |
Chapter 2 Season One | Oct 15 2019 | Feb 20 2020 | 128 days | 11 |
Chapter 2 Season Two | Feb 20 2020 | June 17 2020 | 119 days | 12 |
Chapter 2 Season Three | June 17 2020 | Aug 27 2020 | 71 days | 13 |
Chapter 2 Season Four | Aug 27 2020 | Dec 1 2020 | 95 days | 14 |
Chapter 2 Season Five | Dec 2 2020 | Mar 15 2021 | 103 days | 15 |
Chapter 2 Season Six | Mar 16 2021 | June 8 2021 | 85 days | 16 |
Chapter 2 Season Seven | June 8 2021 | Sept 12 2021 | 97 days | 17 |
Chapter 2 Season Eight | Sept 13 2021 | Dec 4 2021 | 83 days | 18 |
Chapter 3 Season 1 | Dec 5 2021 | Mar 19 2021 | 105 days | 19 |
Chapter 3 Season 2 | Mar 20 2022 | June 3 2022 | 76 days | 20 |
Chapter 3 Season 3 | June 4 2022 | Sept 17 2022 | 105 days | 21 |
Chapter 3 Season 4 | Sept 18 2022 | Dec 3 2022 | 76 days | 22 |
Chapter 4 Season 1 | Dec 3 2022 | March 10 2023 | 97 days | 23 |
Chapter 4 Season 2 | March 10 2023 | June 8 2023 | 90 days | 24 |
Chapter 4 Season 3 | June 8 2023 | August 25 2023 | 76 days | 25 |
Chapter 4 Season 4 | August 25 2023 | November 3rd | 71 Days | 26 |
Fortnite OG (Chapter 5 Season 5 | November 3 2023 | December 2 2023 | 29 Days | 27 |
Chapter 5 Season 1 | December 3 2023 | March 8 2024 | 97 Days | 28 |
Chapter 5 Season 2 | March 9 2024 | May 24 2024 | 75 Days | 29 |
The Fortnite seasons’ dates and Fortnite timeline though show how far the game has come. Now five chapters in, each season feels pretty unique still from what’s come before. However, looking at a full timeline it’s clear how inconsistent the lengths are! Even without counting the mini-season Fortnite OG, there’s been great variety.
Even the naming is odd at times, with the tenth Season randomly ditching numbers for numerals, and new Chapters only reaching the one-a-year schedule recently.
The meta of the game changes just as often with the season. The best Fortnite players in Chapter 5 aren’t the same as those who killed it in the early days. Looking through Fortnite all season end dates, we can really see how far the game’s come.
Fortnite Chapter 5
With Chapter 5 of Fortnite, we’ve stepped into an even wider world. In Battle Royale we’ve got a new map, weapon mods, and even old walking has been completely changed. (Briefly, thankfully the Fortnite movement changes were quickly reversed) The new version of the game feels entirely different. All players have completely fresh animations for different movement along with all of the new features in the game. Some of the biggest changes are coming outside of Battle Royale though.
Fortnite has gotten three new games this season. There’s a Lego mode reminiscent of Minecraft. Plus, a rhythm game called Fortnite Festival. Along with a racing mode, Rocket Racing. Some of these even have their own counts for Fortnite seasons!
Fortnite is far from just a Battle Royale anymore and it looks like it’s only going to grow from here.
Chapter 5 Season 2 has expanded all areas of the game. There’s more to do in Lego, time trials in Racing, and tons of fun new Battle Royale content in C5 S2. New seasons bring more new content than ever before.
All Fortnite Seasons and Chapters – How Has the Game Changed?
Fortnite seasons and Chapters are all just dividing lines in the game, but what exactly do they mean for gameplay? For most, Fortnite seasons can be a big change and a different theme for the game’s direction. Some Seasons have very consistent themeing with updates taking the game in a unique direction which might just get dropped in the next month. A good example is Chapter 2 Season 6 where Epic rammed crafting mechanics into the title, only to ditch it entirely for the new alien-themed season next time around.
Sometimes the new changes in the game for a season aren’t ditched though. There are some changes with push-through seasons and permanently change the game. New mechanics like parkour, sprinting, and even Zero Build modes have been added in recently, debuting in Chapter 3 Season 2. This has built significantly on what came before. Chapter 4 introduced Augments, Fortnite’s answer to perks. They were gone again in Chapter 5 though.
All that progress got put on ice recently when we returned back to Chapter 1! It was a popular but brief revival before we moved on to something entirely fresh. With Chapter 5 introducing tons of new features, Fortnite leaks show even more are coming soon.
Perhaps the biggest recent change is Fortnite becoming a platform. It’s now home to lots of different modes, not just a Battle Royale game. This is even reflected in the game’s new tagline, find it in Fortnite.
Map Changes
Changing seasons and chapters is another way for Epic Games to drastically change the map. Since players are routinely dropping onto the same island, it’s good for them to provide some variety. By changing the map over a season and drastically again over a chapter, they provide the community with some diversity in the game. Each Chapter has a fresh start with a brand new map too.
While the physical items that fill a role change with Fortnite seasons, often those innovations are in the game to stay. Shopping carts and quad crashers weren’t in every season. They paved the way for Ballers, Choppas, Boats, and eventually the cars and then tanks that roam the map. Items that came to add diversity to the loot pool might not stay every season. But they’ve largely influenced how the loot pool is viewed and what kind of variety Epic tries to provide.
While we can look at the length of all Fortnite seasons and chapters, the game has developed gradually and isn’t too recognizable from where it started. Putting aside our brief return to the OG map, of course! Our new Chapter 5 is maybe the most polished ever, and its art style is considerably different from where we started.
This new Chapter 5 map is now here. It’s already had major changes in just a season though. The map has changed to take us all the way back to ancient Greece.
What are Fortnite Seasons?
All Fortnite seasons are dividing points between different eras of the game. With each new season, we see massive map changes, weapon changes, new Fortnite esports events, and a brand-new Battle Pass.
Since Fortnite is an ongoing game that is constantly updated, Seasons are an opportunity to add a lot of new content into the game at once. Fortnite Season 1 was just the starting point.
All Fortnite seasons also tend to be structured around a theme now, with a bit of lore to discover alongside it. More recent seasons have even had subtitles that spelled out the theme, like ‘Primal’ in Chapter 2 Season 6. The current season’s myths theming is pretty evident too.
Each season should feel like something new for the game, and the changeover is often the big event that gets the most people talking about Fortnite.
What Season is it in Fortnite?
Right now, it is Chapter 5 Season 2. Ever since Chapter 1’s finale, Epic has shortened each Chapter. Chapter 2 lasted eight seasons, Chapter 3 and 4 each only lasted four. That seemingly wasn’t a reflection of the changing Fortnite player count. Chapter 4 seemingly came early thanks to upgrades to Unreal Engine. Although, it too ended after only 4 Seasons.
Hopefully, we get a bit more time with the Chapter 5 map! So far it feels like one of the best we’ve had so far. Fortnite leakers are claiming that Epic is testing up to Season 3 of C5, so this might be the map to finally break the recent four seasons trend.
All Fortnite seasons can vary quite widely in length! An average Fortnite Season is 75 days long, excluding the month-long OG event.
How long is a Fortnite season?
In Chapter 1, that average was 72 days and in Chapter 2 it has been higher, with an average length of 97 days. Both of those averages are raised quite a bit by the lengthy Chapter 2 Season 1 and Season 2.
Chapter 3 had an average of 90.5 days. Chapter 4 had an average of 83.5 days. However, the OG mini-season would throw that off. Since this is just an event, not a numbered season it’s debatable if this counts. We’ll exclude this since it’s more of a halfway house between two seasons than a full-fledged instalment.
This first season of the new Chapter 5 will ran for 97 days, ending on March 8 2024. The second season will be quite a bit shorter though. These are our landmark seasons for length.
- The shortest Season so far was Fortnite OG being just 29 days long.
- The longest Fortnite season was Chapter 2 season 1, which lasted for 128 days.
Chapter 3 Season 1 ran for a while with its first season too. Chapter 5 Season 1 is also longer than average. However, it doesn’t look like anything is going to claim that tile from Fortnite’s never-ending C2 S1.
Fortnite All Seasons to Date FAQ
When does the new Fortnite season start?
The Fortnite new season is due to start on May 24 2024. However, these dates do often change. Seasons can go on longer when the new content isn’t ready in time, so check back in for updates on the next season’s Fortnite release date.
When does the Fortnite season end?
Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 2 is due to end on May 24th, 2024. However, this is just a stand-in date at the moment. Seasons can go on longer when the new content isn’t ready in time or get delayed.
How long has Fortnite been out?
The Fortnite initial release date was July 21, 2017. However, the Battle Royale side of the game wasn’t added until later in the year, coming out in early access on September 26, 2017. Even within the Battle Royale, there was a pre-season stage before the Fortnite Season structure really kicked in.