Is Fornite shutting down? Everything you need to know

Rumors of Fortnite shutting down have been circulating in recent times

A tweet allegedly from Fortnite's account caused panic among its many fans

The game shut down for an extended period of time starting April 12 for repairs

By Steve Longo

Published: 09:51 EST, 17 April 2018 | Updated: 09:51 EST, 17 April 2018

In recent days, rumors that the massively popular action-shooter videogame Fortnite would be taken offline in May 2018 lit up the game's sprawling fan base. Now, the truth of the rumor's validity have finally been revealed.

The shutdown rumors were first brought to attention by the website Twinfinite after a screenshot of a supposed tweet from Fortnite's official Twitter account began circulating online.

The tweet, dated April 10, read: 'Due to the law suit against PubG on copyright infringement. We are sorry to inform you that Fortnite Battle Royale Will be coming to an end May 24, 2018. Save the world will still be in development and we will roll out ASAP. Thank you all for the support.'

Rumors of Fortnite's shutdown have proven to be nothing more than just an Internet hoax

Fortunately for the game's legions of fans, the rumors of its impending shutdown have proven to be nothing more than a hoax. The game's official Twitter account and other social media accounts show no records of actually sending out the message while numerous grammatical and spelling errors also point to it being a hoax.

The tweet's timing, along with the game's recent bout of extended downtime starting on April 12, 2018 due to emergency server maintenance, led many fans to initially believe its validity.

Fortnite serv er outage

The game's recent period of downtime caused angst among fans on the evening of Thursday, April 12 due to a server outage for 'emergency maintenance.' Although the game is usually taken offline in increments of about two hours for regular maintenance, its extended offline period sparked anxiety among its fans, causing many to speculate that it may be taken down forever.

This ultimately proved to not be the case, as the game was eventually brought back online by Epic Games. 

To make up for the extended period of downtime, Epic Games offered Battle Royale players free Back Bling over the weekend of April 13 – 15, 2018.

Social media reacts to Fornite closure rumors

News of the Fornite's possible shutdown sparked panic and confusion among its massive fan base:

@FortniteGame Is it true that yous are shutt ing down battle Royale please tell me this is a lie

— jameso barnes (@jameso_barnes) April 12, 2018

THANK GOD FORTNITE IS NOT ACTUALLY SHUTTING DOWN

— ����‍♂️ (@wickedIogic) April 12, 2018

What is happening on fortnite,I saw off someone's post it's shutting down @FortniteGame

— Taylerminnis (@Taylerminnis1) April 12, 2018

Low key kinda sad bc fortnite is shutting down due to "copyright". That game was fun while it lasted.

— k a y l e e ���� (@kayleeannheath) April 12, 2018

is fortnite actually shutting down or is it a rumor

— s (@stfuusavv) April 13, 2018 What is Fortnite?

Fortnite is a popular free-to-play shooter videogame that currently has a player base in excess of 45 million.

The game's objective is to be the l ast player standing on a map that sees 100 players duke it out in a large-scale, fast-paced brawl. 

The game was both developed and published by Epic Games and released in March 2018 for iOS and in September 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. A version for Android systems is also under development.

The game has obtained a huge fan base that includes Drake and other celebrities. A large celebrity Fortnite game is also planned to be held at the 2018 E3 convention set to take place in Los Angeles, California in June. 

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