A Fortnite leak from last month that many thought to be false turned out to be totally true, as we learned this week with the reveal of Fortnite’s Chapter 2.
What happened: Fortnite released a major update earlier this week that included a new map for gamers, which includes new locations, familiar spots and different locales to visit compared to the last two years.
- But the map wasn’t exactly new. See, a version of the map leaked online weeks ago. But many internet theorists believed the map to be fake, according to Eurogamer.
The story: An image of the map leaked on the r/fortnitecompetitive Reddit forum. The post, which was later deleted, said that the pciture was a “leak” from a “friend” who worked at Epic Games, which develops Fortnite.
- The map continued to make the rounds on other Reddit threads, including r/FortniteBR. But it continued to receive downvotes, as social media users slammed those who shared the map.
- “Was it real? The internet quickly decided no. Fan-made map concepts are posted on reddit all the time, and the idea Fortnite was suddenly going to switch to an all-new island was still far from certain,” according to Eurogamer.
Why not?: So why didn’t anyone believe it? Well, the original leaked images showed a glossier map than the more defined one we see now.
- “Part of the reason that the map was dismissed was because its desaturated style didn’t match with the current vibe of the map,” according to Forbes’ Paul Tassi. “And it’s true, the final version of the map is a lot more colorful and rich than the leaked version, and yet the leaked version was very much legitimate.”
Context: Fortnite has a rich culture of leaks. Data miners will comb through the game’s code and game files to identify upcoming updates and release notes before they actually hit your PC or gaming console. That’s why rumors often pop up on social media forums — particularly Reddit, where the Fortnite community is vibrant — and spread across gaming news websites.