Fortnite has had numerous live events over the years, each setting a benchmark for live service games in the Battle Royale genre. However, some have been much better than others.
Live events have altered the landscape of how players engage with the storytelling of their chosen game. Warzone, Apex Legends, and PUBG all host live events to keep things fresh and entertaining for players as well as push out a new content update.
Fortnite, the game that sparked the trend, knows how to do it best. Epic has held over 21 live events in its 7 years, each introducing fresh gameplay, graphics, and a new season.
It’s been seven years since Fortnite’s first live event, and each one has had a significant impact on the game’s lore. These events propel the story ahead and lead players to new content updates.
While some of these were great and matched the grandeur of live events Fortnite is known for, others weren’t as impressive as they looked.
Best Fortnite live events
21) Sandstorm event – Chapter 5 Season 2
The Sandstorm event began around the end of Chapter 5 Season 2. It was loaded with Greek mythology and an impending battle between loopers and gods, kicking up a massive sandstorm and bringing the Wrecked season and the Wasteland biome to the Chapter 5 map.
While the event had a great lead-up, it was a letdown given that loopers were anticipated to battle Zeus in the Oracle questline. There was no gameplay involved, the visuals focused around only one POI, there wasn’t enough lore build-up to the event, and there was no significance whatsoever in taking players to a new map.
I mean, think about it, a Mad-Max style season right after the one with Greek mythology? Now that’s just lazy writing.
20) Pandora’s Box – Chapter 5 Season 1
Pandora’s Box was one of several surprises that caught Fortnite players off guard. Loopers expected Peely to be rescued in a live event, as Chapter 5 Season 1 focused on a conflict between two factions: The Society and The Underground.
Instead, they were greeted by earthquakes, with cracks forming at Restored Reels, and a Titan Hand emerging with a chained Pandora’s Box.
The event had no cinematics or a finale but rather served as merely a cheap transition to the next Fortnite season. It had the same problems as the Sandstorm event where a storyline that was built up in Season 1, was just thrown away abruptly by the writer who gives a big finger to the players who prefer lore over allure.
19) Ice Storm – Chapter 1 Season 7
Ice Storm was the first live event to modify the whole map and introduce a snow biome. Epic tried to create one of the most visually stunning events in Chapter 1 when they made Ice King unleash a snowstorm across the entire Season 7 map. This event kicked off Winterfest for the year, as loopers saw the arrival of X-4 Stormwing planes that they could fly around.
But the event itself was the worst of the lot in Chapter 1 since it looked like a Star Wars wipe from the movies which changed the scene. It was merely a cinematic cutscene, while other events of the time attracted greater interest due to their scale and the involvement of players in a huge way.
18) Star Wars Live at Risky – Chapter 2 Season 1
The Star Wars event in Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 1 was a significant crossover for the game. It featured a live event at Risky Reels where players saw an exclusive clip from “Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.”
The event featured a stunning in-game spectacle involving the Millennium Falcon engaging in a dogfight with Tie Fighters, and an appearance by J.J. Abrams. While it was merely a virtual interview and showcase, it brought lightsabers to the game for the first time and the initial Star Wars cosmetic collab, which is still growing to this day.
However, remove the entire Star Wars fandom from the event, and it becomes a clickbait for players to watch something boring rather than involving them in a Star Wars-style battle. This event was one of the weakest of the lot in Chapter 2, and I’d any day put Christopher Nolan’s movie screenings in Party Royale higher than this one.
17) Refinery event – Chapter 5 Season 3
In comparison to the previous two seasons, Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 3 laid the groundwork for its finale rather successfully. It introduced Megalo Don, the bad guy who intended to blow up the island and build a pipeline to fuel his ship.
But, what really startled loopers in The Refinery event was Doom hacking the pipelines and blowing up the entire Redline Rig, unleashing Pandora’s Box.
This is, to date, the strongest Chapter 5 live event from the list, but it fails to compare to the epic grandeur Chapter 1 events promised. I mean, blowing up stuff usually happens in a BR game when you use explosives. Bringing back Pandora’s Box while you’ve still got a more powerful entity called Zero Point makes absolutely no sense.
16) Zero Crisis Finale – Chapter 2 Season 6
Fortnite pulled out all the stops when it came to producing a spectacular live event with Zero Crisis Finale. After Agent Jones gathered the best Bounty Hunters throughout the universe to quell the turmoil, The Seven’s commander, The Foundation, paid the ultimate price.
During the event, players were given a Zero Point device to aid Jones and The Foundation control the mayhem by repairing broken rifts. Finally, it ended with a heartfelt farewell to The Seven’s leader and a promise of more spectacular adventures ahead.
But what makes it rank so low is the aftermath of the event which brought Boars, Bows, and Wolves to the island. Instead, I’d have preferred at least some attempt from Jonesy to save The Foundation instead of running wild around the map with animals.
15) The Device – Chapter 2 Season 2
The Device was Fortnite Chapter 2’s first major live event, which ended by flooding the map, and causing a water storm. The entire island was submerged, and players encountered underwater diving mechanics for the first time.
It was also the first time players saw The Imagined Order’s office and overheard Jonesy talking on the phone. The event was one of the most unique experiences for a looper, setting the tone for Fortnite’s lore in Chapter 2.
Although Epic could have easily hit home with this one had they introduced a water storm circle in the next season and allowed players to combat underwater. But since you won’t be able to crank 90s underwater, and maybe Fortnite doesn’t want Ninja to rage quit another game, they seemed to pull back on the move.
14) Fracture – Chapter 3 Season 4
Fracture was the longest event ever, lasting a whopping 35 minutes and requiring loopers to build an entirely new island out of relics of the past and Zero Point. Loopers were required to run through a parkour course, acquire items, and compete in time trials as part of the event.
The entire event seemed too grindy and it felt like we were forced to do tasks we did not want to do. Even though loopers have been asking for more gameplay live events, this just felt like Epic took some cheap Creative maps and included their gameplay all in one island. Besides, the event did not even grant the XP we deserved for all the work!
13) Showtime (Marshmello Concert) – Chapter 1 Season 7
Marshmello headlined the first-ever live concert in Fortnite, known as Showtime. A beautiful concert stage and dancing floor were set up in Pleasant Park, and loopers were treated to Marshmello performing his best songs for them.
It felt like a virtual party to which everyone was invited. This event kicked off a wave of virtual concerts in Fortnite. However, it could have used more runtime and even some gameplay, given the gameplay was evolving at a rapid pace in Chapter 1.
12) Collision – Chapter 3 Season 2
Collision marked the return of Fortnite’s two heroes, The Mech and The Paradigm. When a conflict between The Resistance and The Imagined Order erupted, The Seven’s most mysterious character, Paradigm, returned to the island to help Jones beat Slone and foil IO’s intentions to conquer Zero Point.
Despite the high stakes involved, the gameplay side of things left a lot to be desired. It was just players operating the Mecha on autopilot and running inside a drill machine. That’s when the interest in the entire thing dropped.
There was no new objective, the bad guy still survived, and all that build-up for Geno but not delivering him the next season? Felt like Donald Mustard toying with players one last time before he left the company.
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11) Ariana Grande’s Rift Tour – Chapter 2 Season 7
While players did not have high hopes for this event, Ariana Grande’s Rift Tour surprised the entire community. It introduced many gameplay elements, such as sliding down a Slime Slide, jumping on clouds, piloting an X-4 Stormwing to destroy the Storm King, and even sprinting up a Parkour Course.
All of this occurred while Ariana sang her hit songs and guided players through a journey across multiple dimensions. However, it was all over the place. You were bouncing and doing parkour at the same time, you were also collecting tokens for XP and the game was teaching you how to revive a teammate? Seriously? Some wasted potential, but still a solid event.
10) Blast Off – Chapter 1 Season 4
Blast Off was the inaugural Fortnite event, often known as “Rocket Launch” by many OG players. The launch did not simply open a rift in the sky for the first time, but also connected the island to the greater multiverse, kicking off the game’s lore in Chapter 1.
The rocket launched by The Visitor demonstrated that the sky is more than just a blank canvas; it’s a portal to other dimensions that players have yet to explore. The spectacle astounded everyone on the island, and it set off the remarkable adventure of Fortnite events which easily made it to the top 10.
9) The Big Bang – Chapter 4 Season OG
The Big Bang transformed the game into a multiverse and gave birth to the numerous game modes we see today. The event had everything a looper could want, including the new LEGO mode, allowing racing, and eventually jamming to Eminem’s songs during an in-game concert.
But what ranks it lower than other events on the list is that it was too short. Bringing Eminem to a live event just to make him perform for 3 minutes seems more like a tease than a live event. I mean, it did look cool for him to perform Lose Yourself and Godzilla, but he had a Rap Boy outfit in the item shop too. Wouldn’t have killed for the writer of the event to include the iconic Without Me song, too.
8) The End Chapter 2 – Chapter 2 Season 8
Fortnite has never had a more frightening villain than the Cube Queen, who corrupted the entire island with her Sideways monsters and limitless Cubes. The queen was hellbent on destroying all reality and conquering the Zero Point.
This is when members of The Seven arrived to rescue the loopers and flip the entire island, thus defeating her. When players were hurled off the island into the distance, they could see another island at the bottom of the current one, which revealed a new map for the next chapter.
However, for a moment, I did want to fight the Queen herself 1v1, maybe using a Sideways Minigun. Or an epic battle between The Seven and her would have been quite epic too. Instead, Fortnite chose the safer route and played defensive when loopers were expecting the opposite.
7) Butterfly Event – Chapter 1 Season 6
Fortnite players were perplexed by the sudden appearance of a pink cube in the middle of the island and worked for weeks to solve the mystery. That changed when the cube began to float in the air and broke into pieces, transporting players to the rift dimension.
The event was the first time loopers had seen the Zero Point and been so close to it. This is when a Rift Butterfly approaches the player and settles on their finger. The event demonstrated how powerful the Zero Point is in defending itself against elements like the Cube.
Butterfly Event showed the true graphical excellence of Unreal Engine at a time when it had just been a year since Fortnite was out. The visuals were breathtaking, as players could observe every single crack in the rift and the charming sounds of the butterfly fluttering around them.
6) The Unvaulting – Chapter 1 Season 9
For weeks, The Scientist had been working on something near Tilted Towers when a curious hatch opened. Players soon began entering it revealing multiple monoliths and a destabilizing Zero Point.
What made this event unusual was that these monoliths housed Fortnite items and weapons, and, if players were successful in breaking any of them, the item would be unvaulted back into the game. This was a pretty cool concept that allowed players to vote for the items they wanted returned to the loot pool which had never been done before in a Battle Royale title.
5) Operation: Skyfire – Chapter 2 Season 7
Operation Skyfire was one of Fortnite’s most memorable gameplay moments. It allowed players to board an extraterrestrial spaceship, demonstrating how spectacular an open-world Fortnite game would be.
Players boarded the Kymera Mothership, Kevin the Cube appeared and turned Blue and an explosion sent all of the cubes and creatures from the Mothership onto the island.
The event was successful in concluding the story going on in that season. It checked all the boxes − we got to know who the Kymera is, check; we saw the source of their power, check, and it brought the most evil villain in Fortnite history. The visuals, the music, the gameplay, everything was top-notch, which makes the event into our top 5 on the list.
4) The Final Showdown – Chapter 1 Season 9
The Final Showdown: The Mech vs The Polar Peak Monster is Fortnite’s equivalent of Godzilla vs Kong and is one of the most spectacular clashes you’ll ever see in a live service game. This event was a cinematic classic in terms of setting, tension, and epic finale.
For weeks, players had speculated what was within the Polar Peak, that was making a growling noise. During that, the construction of a Mech Robot on the island drew enough attention as well. However, all came to an end in the finale. Both behemoths went head to head against each other, with the Mech slaying the monster one-handed and then performing the iconic floss.
3) The Devourer of Worlds – Chapter 2 Season 4
Like Marvel films, The Devourer of Worlds delivered on the promise of an epic live event and a memorable collaboration with Fortnite, which is still a fan favorite today. During the event, Iron Man made us drive the Gamma Powered Battle Buses armed with bombs around Galactus as the Avengers helped us defeat him.
They even recreated the iconic Trench Run scene from the Star Wars Episode IV, but it was rather tuned to AC/DC’s Demon Fire.
What makes the event a Top 3 in the list is its gameplay, dialogue, scale, and the promise of transporting players into a Marvel Movie itself. Even Kevin Feige said that he’s taking inspiration from the event to make Galactus in the upcoming Fantastic 4 film!
2) Travis Scott’s Astronomical – Chapter 2 Season 2
Travis Scott’s Astronomical is the only Fortnite live event to attract the most participants in a single session. This event surpassed all records and went viral on social media, with the rapper performing for players in a larger-than-life form.
Travis took his Astroworld to the Fortnite island and transformed Sweaty Sands into his own theme park, with people dancing, bouncing around, and even diving underwater to his songs. One of the reasons this live event is still remembered is that it brought players closer to a concert experience while the world was shut down.
At a time when in-person concerts weren’t being held, no other game or virtual experience brought fans closer to an artist, let alone interact with them. But Fortnite did that with Astronomical. You could purchase a Travis Scott skin and dance as him while he danced with you.
The event not only provided loopers with a concert experience, but it also rewarded them with a free Glider and teased a Rift Butterfly at the conclusion. Furthermore, Travis Scott’s skin and cosmetics remain some of the rarest collaboration items in Fortnite history.
1) The End Chapter 1 – Chapter 1 Season X
It’s one thing to hold an event and immediately move to a new map, but what about shutting down a full live service game for two days? That is exactly what The End did in Chapter 1, and it caught the whole Fortnite player base off guard.
The rocket was launched into space to create a rift, which caused a meteor to explode through the Zero Point, transforming it into a black hole that absorbed all of reality.
The live event was more than just a cinematic or visual spectacle. It was the first time Fortnite had openly revealed that the entire game was changing, and there was no better way to do so than to completely shut down all servers.
The blackout caused havoc and remains one of the most memorable moments for those who believed it was the “end of Fortnite”. But, little did they know it would grow into the giant multiverse it is today, continuing to astound its player community with iconic live events like these.
