Fortnite’s latest live event marred by technical issues

Fortnite’s latest live event was marred by technical problems as some players were left unable to witness or participate in the proceedings, including major changes to the game’s map and players voting to ‘unvault’ the drum gun.

“We are aware that some players were unable to witness the Unvaulting event and are currently investigating the scope of impact,” Epic said on Twitter.

“We apologise to those who were unable to witness the event and place their vote.”

Epic also said it’s working to release replay files of the event so players who missed it can witness it from within the client.

Prior to the event, Epic disabled most of the standard Fortnite battle royale modes and introduced a limited time playlist called The Unvaulting, according to The Verge.

It featured respawns instead of permanent death, ensuring players wouldn’t miss out on events as they unfolded.

The event, which is captured in the Forbes video above, began with the opening of a vault located in Loot Lake. Players who jumped in descended into a low-gravity chamber featuring six previously vaulted in-game items encased in transparent pillars, including aeroplanes and the Infinity Blade.

Players ‘voted’ for the item they wanted to see returned to the game by swinging their pick-axes at the pillars, with the drum gun winning out.

When the voting was complete, players returned to the island, where the volcano introduced to the game’s map at the start of Fortnite season eight erupted.

It sent magma missiles shooting into the air, with several crashing down on and almost completely levelling Tilted Towers, an urban area of the map previously characterised by tall buildings.

Other areas of the map, including Retail Row, were also damaged following the eruption.

Epic has made a habit of staging elaborate in-game events to mark the close of Fortnite seasons.

To round off season seven in February, DJ star Marshmello played an exclusive in-game concert which attracted an audience of 10.7 million people, breaking the game’s record concurrent player count.

Fortnite season nine is expected to begin on May 8, according to a recent post on Epic’s site.