Fortnite downtime today (January 18): When will servers be back up?

After over a month of waiting, the next Fortnite update v23.20 will go live today (January 18, 2022) in just a few hours. Although the update day was postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday, the time remains the same. The downtime for the update will commence at 4:00 am Eastern Time, as is the norm.

The game's servers will be taken offline for thirty minutes before the downtime period begins, which should be sometime around 3:30 am Eastern Time. To avoid losing out on progress in Save The World or being booted from a BR match, players should log out by 3:00 am Eastern Time at the latest.

How long will the Fortnite downtime last today (January 18)?

Although downtimes don't exceed the three-hour mark in most instances, today's update may take some time to implement. Considering that this will be the first major update since Winterfest 2022, there's a lot of content that will be added/removed/changed in-game.

Given how janky gameplay has been in recent times alongside broken weapons/mechanics, the developers will want to make sure everything works as intended. With that said, players should be mentally prepared to wait upwards of four hours before the servers are brought back online.

Even so, given that it's a weekday, most users will likely not be able to access the game until their work/school day ends. Such being the case, the bulk of users in the Eastern Time zone won't be affected if the update does take longer than usual.

Fixes and content changes for Fortnite patch v23.20

Since this will be the second major update for Chapter 4 Season 1, a lot of new content is likely to be added. While not all of it will be activated in-game once the downtime ends, it will feature in-game over the course of the next few days/week.

Starting off, the very first item on the list is the "Falcon Scout." This new utility item, in theory, will allow players to survey the battlefield and mark opponents that are visible. The mark will last for a few seconds and the information will likely be shared with the entire squad.

Since Epic Games has hinted at this item in their downtime/update tweet, it should go live alongside the new batch of weekly challenges at 9:00 am Eastern Time. Speaking of challenges, the new batch of Oathbound challenges will also go live simultaneously.

Coming back to content, there's not much information regarding any new items/weapons/mechanics. In fact, the developers are still investigating issues with existing mechanics such as Hurdling, which could take some time to fix in-game. On that note, two bug fixes will be implemented during the Fortnite update v23.20. They are:

With The Kid Laroi soon to perform in Fortnite, his cosmetic set may be decrypted today. He will very likely be getting his own Icon Series skin in-game, much like other artists who have performed in the metaverse.

While on the subject of skins, the upcoming Crew skin for February and the Rift Warden may also get showcased today. Lastly, there is also the possibility of the rumored Dead Space collaboration to be featured in the Fortnite update 23.20 as well. However, leakers aren't too sure about this information for the time being.

About the author

Matthew Wilkins is one of the top writers at Sportskeeda Gaming, having crossed 16 million views in just over three years. Matthew currently writes for Fortnite, MMO, and other sections as well. Speaking with developers of the Total War franchise and reviewing numerous AAA games have been key milestones in his career so far.

Matthew is a Communicative English Major, and his skills and experience have helped him dig deep in the world of esports and gaming journalism. He prioritizes accuracy and ensures nothing is second-guessed. Being connected to the community is an important aspect of his life, as it helps him keep track of credible insiders and leakers to be among the first to report on breaking news.

Matthew grew up playing video games, with Age of Empires serving as his gateway into the world. Currently, he leans towards real-time as well as turn-based strategy games, 4x, and similar genres, and frequently binge-plays solo or multiplayer titles on PC. His love for Red Dead Redemption 2 and Stellaris are unparalleled, matched perhaps only by Fortnite. Matthew is also a vocalist and performs a variety of genres like Glam Rock, Pop, Heavy Metal, and Rock when not writing.

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