Gnomes leaving the Fortnite island confirms new Chapter 3 map

Fortnite Chapter 3 is just around the corner and it seems like the Gnomes won't be around to see what changes the new Chapter brings. They had been preparing to leave the island for quite a few weeks now and it seems like it's almost time for them to leave. Most of the Gnomes had gathered near Craggy Cliffs and were loading their belongings into canoes. With the Fortnite 18.40 update and Season 8 live event fast approaching, the last remaining Gnomes are starting to retreat away from the island.

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Gnomes won't be present in Fortnite Chapter 3

With the upcoming update for Fortnite Season 8 sure to change a lot of things about the island, one of them was the removal of Gnomes from the island. Now, the last batch of Gnomes located in the Pleasant Park area have made their way to the edge of the island to join the rest. You can find large numbers of Gnomes north of Craggy Cliffs preparing their boats to leave the island before the final upcoming battle wipes the entire Fortnite island out of existence.

Another group of Gnomes are also present to the west near the Viking Vessel, as well as the team from the prison break. After breaking out some of the Gnomes from the Sheriff's Office, the crew fled south to the lake above Misty Meadows and can now be found at the Swamp, readying their boats. But where are they going next?

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Where will the Gnomes head next?

While it's still not clear where these statues will go next, we can make a few assumptions. If the Gnomes are leaving the island, it is quite possible that they might have a destination already planned in their minds. Another possibility is that they are just getting out of the blast radius and might come back again once the island is safe.

However, seeing that almost the entire Gnome population has either left or is leaving, a return seems unlikely. There are some speculations that these Gnomes are part of the IO and are leaving the island to head towards the Bridge. But all of these rumors and speculations remain to be seen.