Fortnite High Stakes Update, Week 9 Challenges Delayed

Fortnite's recently teased High Stakes event is coming a little later than planned. Developer Epic Games announced on Twitter that the event--along with the 5.40 update--will now roll out for PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and mobile on Thursday, September 6, which will also delay the arrival of Week 9's challenges.

According to the studio, the event and new patch have been pushed back "due to the discovery of a critical controller issue." Epic didn't divulge any further details about the issue, but as a result of its discovery, this week's new set of challenges will also arrive a little later than normal; they're now slated to go live on Friday, September 7, as opposed to their usual Thursday rollout.

Epic first announced High Stakes just before the start of PAX West last week. The heist-themed event will feature its own set of challenges and skins. Epic is also introducing a new limited-time mode called Getaway that completely changes the game. The objective here is to locate four safes that have been dropped around the item, extract the valuables inside, and safely reach the extraction zone.

The aforementioned 5.40 patch will also make some notable changes to the game. First, the edge of the storm will now deal damage to player structures "in the final phases" of the match, which Epic says will "provide a little more dynamic gameplay." The developer is also vaulting the Revolver as part of an initiative to keep the item pool feeling fresh and dynamic."

Season 5 of Fortnite has almost come to an end. The season concludes later this month, but as it has done in the lead up to previous seasons, Epic has already begun teasing what's in store for Fortnite in the near future with some strange in-game phenomena. Recently, a giant lightning bolt emerged from the rift in the sky and struck the desert, leaving a mysterious purple cube in its wake. Players have since noticed the cube moving toward an unknown destination on the map, although what that signifies remains a mystery.