Fortnite adding ‘reboot’ respawn mechanic

Epic Games has confirmed plans to introduce a respawn mechanic in Fortnite’s battle royale mode.

Set for release next week as part of Fortnite update 8.30, it’ll work much like Apex Legends’ respawn system.

As you can see in the video below, eliminated players drop “reboot cards” when they die, which remaining teammates can collect.

The cards can then be activated at “reboot vans” to bring the fallen players back into the game.

Once activated, a beacon and audio cue will notify nearby players that a reboot is in progress and how many players will be arriving.

Players will return one by one on top of the reboot van. Following respawns, reboot vans will be unusable for an unspecified duration.

In Respawn Entertainment‘s rival battle royale title Apex Legends, eliminated players leave behind “banners” for 90 seconds after they die. If collected by surviving teammates, they can be taken to “respawn beacons” and used to bring players back into the game.

This isn’t the first feature genre leader Fortnite has borrowed from its much younger rival. Shortly after Apex debuted in February 2019, Fortnite copied its highly-praised ping system, which enables players to non-verbally communicate with teammates by highlighting various points of interest, including enemies and loot, through button presses.

In March 2019, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said Fortnite’s registered player base had swelled from 200 million in November 2018 to close to 250 million, with a concurrent player record of 10.8 million.

Also in March 2019, Respawn said Apex Legends had attracted 50 million players in its first month of availability.