Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 — officially titled Showdown — went live on March 19, 2026, ending one of the game’s longest seasons. Chapter 7 Season 1 (Pacific Break) ran for 110 days from November 29, 2025, after a two-week delay pushed the original March 4 launch. The wait is over. The island has changed, and the story is finally moving again.
This season puts two of Fortnite’s biggest characters head-to-head: The Foundation — voiced and modelled on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — against the Ice King, who has returned from Chapter 1. The season’s full storyline is officially called The Dark Voyager Saga, with the Dark Voyager (Reality Redacted) and the Ice King working together against The Seven. A full loot pool reset, new map locations, the Skyline Deployer movement item, and the new Rivalry system are all part of the v40.00 update. Here is everything confirmed, broken down clearly.
⏱ Server Downtime Tracker — March 19, 2026
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⏰ Global Launch Times
Downtime began at 2 AM ET on March 19 and lasted approximately 5 hours, with Season 2 going live around 7 AM ET. Toggle below for your region.
PT (US West)11 PM Wed
MT12 AM
CT1 AM
ET (US East)2 AM
GMT (UK)7 AM
CET (Europe)8 AM
GST (Gulf)11 AM
IST (India)12:30 PM
CST (China)3 PM
JST (Japan)4 PM
AEST (Australia)5 PM
PT (US West)4 AM
MT5 AM
CT6 AM
ET (US East)7 AM
GMT (UK)12 PM
CET (Europe)1 PM
GST (Gulf)4 PM
IST (India)5:30 PM
CST (China)8 PM
JST (Japan)9 PM
AEST (Australia)10 PM
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2: Showdown — Official key art via Epic Games
⚔️ The Showdown — Season Story
Season 2 returns to Fortnite’s core lore. The Foundation was captured and frozen by the Ice King after the Collider’s destruction. Now freed, he leads what remains of The Seven. The Dark Voyager (Reality Redacted) is working alongside the Ice King to rebuild the original Zero Point using scattered shards.
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The Foundation
Voiced and modelled on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, The Foundation leads The Seven into battle after being freed from the Ice King’s frozen collection. He and The Order are the faces of Team Foundation in the season-long rivalry.
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Ice King
Returned from Chapter 1, the Ice King has teamed with the Dark Voyager (Reality Redacted) to recover Zero Point shards and rebuild the original Zero Point. His stronghold, Frigid Fortress, replaces Clawsy Lodge on the northern map.
Pick a side — just like in the game
🎒 Showdown Battle Pass — All 8 Skins
The Showdown Pass costs 800 V-Bucks — the lowest-priced Fortnite Battle Pass ever. Buying the pass instantly unlocks the Exalted Ice King. Pick it up before March 26 at 11:59 PM ET to get the exclusive Stealth Tech Foundation bonus style. All 8 skins are unlockable in any order from levels 1–100, except Bugs Bunny, who unlocks last at tier 100.
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The Foundation (Reforged)
Returning
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The Order (Reforged)
First on Pass
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Exalted Ice King
Returning
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Elite Jules
Returning
❄️👸
Lady Windfrost
New
🦑
Squibbly
New
🎮
Dasha
New
🐰
Bugs Bunny
Collab — Tier 100
⚠️ The Order is making its first-ever battle pass appearance — previously the only Seven member never on a pass. |
🐰 Daffy Duck and Lola Bunny arrive separately via the item shop after Season 2 launches. |
💡 Completing the pass no longer gives bonus V-Bucks — you recover the 800 you spent, and nothing extra. A first in Fortnite history.
Frigid Fortress — the Ice King’s castle POI, replacing Clawsy Lodge in the northern map. Image via Epic Games
🆕 What’s New in Season 2
Every confirmed change from the v40.00 patch, in plain language. Tap each section to expand.
🗺️ New Map POIs
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Three new named locations arrived with Season 2. Frigid Fortress (the Ice King’s castle) replaces Clawsy Lodge in the north. Squibbly Shores replaces Bumpy Bay — a coastal landmark where Zero Point shards have created unusual water properties. Dark Dominion is a renovated version of Lethal Labs, now the Dark Voyager’s headquarters. The Foundation’s team has established New Sanctuary at what was Classified Canyon. A fourth location — an Atlantis-inspired underwater POI — was shown in the cinematic launch trailer and is expected during the season. The full map refresh also covers Latte Landing, which is now partially covered in snow and ice.
🪂 Skyline Deployer — New Movement Item
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The Skyline Deployer (community nickname: “Skyzips”) is the headline movement item for Season 2. Shoot it out and it deploys a portable zipline you automatically ride. You can attach it to any surface — or to a balloon floating in the air — to create angles for attacking enemies. Any player can use or destroy the deployed zipline. The Surfing mechanic from Season 1 has been vaulted. Epic Games co-founder Mark Rein teased the item on X, posting: “My word for @Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 is: Skyzips — you’re going to love them!”
🔫 New Weapons & Items
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The loot pool is almost entirely refreshed. New base weapons include the Vector 7 DMR, Chaos Reloader Shotgun, and Bouncing Boomstick explosive. Faction-specific exotics confirmed in the v40.00 patch:
🧊 Ice King’s Gauntlets — Dropped at Frigid Fortress. Fires ice projectiles; alternate mode unleashes an ice storm over a large area.
🔫 Foundation’s Rift Rifle (Exotic Vector 7 DMR) — Spawns a rift at bullet impact location.
💥 Seven Cluster Cannon — Fires a cluster of explosive shots after a charged delay.
🥊 Seven Power Gloves — Mobility gauntlets with Dash Punch and Uppercut abilities (charges regenerate over time).
🍕 Slapperoni Pizza — Drop a pizza box your squad can grab slices from for healing + the Slap speed effect.
💣 Overdrive Grenade — Launches you into the air with bonus speed; replaces Shockwave Grenades.
🏆 Rivalry System & Rewards Leaderboard
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When you first log in, you choose Team Foundation or Team Ice King — and you cannot switch sides. Around the map, Rivalry Screens let you challenge another player as your personal enemy for that match. Defeating a rival earns special in-game currency for loot. The team with the most rival defeats across the whole season unlocks a bonus cosmetic style for all battle pass owners. A global Showdown Leaderboard at showdown.fortnite.com lets you track weekly standings — top performers each week earn real prizes including an RTX 5080 graphics card, consoles, and merch.
🎮 Save The World Goes Free
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Save The World — previously a paid mode — goes free-to-play for all players with Season 2. XP is also readjusted, giving players more avenues to earn progress across all Fortnite modes.
💰 V-Bucks Pricing — What Changed
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Ahead of Season 2, Epic overhauled V-Bucks pricing. V-Bucks now cost more. The new Showdown Battle Pass costs 800 V-Bucks (down from 1,000 in Season 1). However, the maximum V-Bucks you can earn inside the pass is also capped at 800 — meaning you recover exactly what you spent, with no bonus V-Bucks on completion. Previously, completing a pass returned 500 bonus V-Bucks on top of cost. Fortnite Crew monthly V-Bucks also dropped from 1,000 to 800 per month. Epic additionally offered its own payment system as an option for V-Bucks purchases on iOS, PC (Epic Games Store), and Google Play (US) with bonus rewards for using it.
🗓️ Arenas Mode — Coming April 9
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A new Arenas mode arrives later in the season on April 9, 2026. It is a build-only boxfight mode where players go 1-on-1 or join 16-player scrimmages to climb a competitive ladder. The mode is separate from the main battle royale playlist.
📊 By The Numbers
5 hrs
Confirmed server downtime (Epic official)
8
Total skins in the Showdown Battle Pass
29%
Fortnite playtime drop in 2025 vs 2024 — Newzoo PC & Console Report 2026
110
Days — length of Chapter 7 Season 1 (3rd longest season ever)
800
V-Bucks — lowest Battle Pass price in Fortnite history
27%
Battle royale genre playtime drop across all platforms in 2025 — Newzoo
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2: Showdown launched on March 19, 2026 via update v40.00, following 110 days of Chapter 7 Season 1. The season was covered across its downtime schedule, confirmed battle pass skins, new POIs including Frigid Fortress and Squibbly Shores, the Skyline Deployer movement item, the Rivalry system, and the faction-based leaderboard at showdown.fortnite.com.
The Showdown Battle Pass — priced at 800 V-Bucks — was discussed alongside the V-Bucks pricing changes, the confirmed absence of completion bonus V-Bucks, and the inclusion of Bugs Bunny as the tier 100 skin. The Order’s first-ever battle pass appearance, the loot pool reset, and Save The World going free-to-play were also part of the v40.00 rollout. Newzoo’s PC & Console Gaming Report 2026 figures — covering Fortnite’s 29% playtime drop and the genre-wide 27% decline — were drawn from the official Fortnite coverage period.
