Fortnite's First Update Since Layoffs Adds Finger Guns Weapon, Big Heads and Shoulder Riding — All Just for 24 Hours

Fortnite has released its archetypal large update since past month's devastating layoffs, which near much than 1,000 unit astatine Epic Games retired of work. Today's additions to conflict royale gameplay are comedic yet sizable — and volition lone past 24 hours.

Today is, of course, April Fool's Day — and Fortnite is leaning into the amusive by adding a caller limb to its main Battle Royale mode, arsenic good arsenic its sister offerings Reload and Blitz. The limb is... digit guns, wherever your quality volition truly conscionable marque digit weapon gestures astatine an force for damage.

Also added contiguous — and conscionable for contiguous — are large heads, reminiscent of the look you'd often unlock successful classical video games via the usage of cheat codes. Amusingly, developer Epic Games has admitted it has struggled implementing this with the slender Peely the banana man, who alternatively present has a Cuddle Team Leader disguise plonked connected top.

YOU CAN STACK MULTIPLE PLAYERS 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/y9NBJldpgV

The April Fool's additions proceed with enarthrosis riding, a seemingly large mechanic wherever players tin clamber up and springiness each others piggy backmost rides — allowing your teammates to sprout portion up connected your shoulders! Players person discovered you tin adjacent stack much than 2 players astatine erstwhile — however galore are possible?

Finally, autumn harm has been removed (replaced with the dependable of a splat erstwhile landing), portion ridable llamas person been added for you trot astir on. And again, each conscionable for 24 hours.

This is the benignant of update that fewer different games would rotation retired for truthful small time, but that's Fortnite for you, I guess. Interested successful getting into the fun? All of the supra volition beryllium disposable until conscionable 5.30am Eastern tomorrow, April 2.

Announcing the layoffs past month, Sweeney said Epic Games had reacted to a downturn successful involvement for Fortnite that began successful 2025, though analysts told IGN that less radical playing the game's seasoned conflict royale was lone 1 of its problems. The institution has spent years warring costly ineligible battles with Apple and Google, portion bankrolling the Epic Games Store arsenic it attempts to rival Steam. And past there's the explosive maturation of Roblox, which Fortnite has present fallen behind.

While today's update is robust, immoderate of those who stay astatine the institution accidental they simply don't cognize however Fortnite volition look aboriginal this twelvemonth and beyond with adjacent to a 4th of the company's unit gone.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social