- The Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 update was released on March 19, 2026, at 7 AM ET.
- The update brings a new Battle Pass, major map changes, and an entirely refreshed loot pool.
- The Chapter 7 Season 2 also adds a new movement mechanic called the Skyline Deployer.
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 is finally here, and the community is teeming with excitement about the brand new season. After Epic Games revealed that the season will feature the return of beloved storyline characters like The Foundation and Ice King, players have been waiting to see what this rivalry-themed season will do to switch up the gameplay loop. Check out the full Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 patch notes below for all the info on the latest update.
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 Update 40.00 Downtime Details
The Fortnite Update 40.00 is now live after an extended scheduled downtime on March 19, 2026, at 2 AM ET. The Fortnite servers were taken down for maintenance, with matchmaking services and all playlists being disabled during the downtime. However, the servers are now back up, allowing players to load into matches.
Fortnite Update Today Full Patch Notes for Chapter 7 Season 2
Since the 40.00 update ushers in a brand new season with Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2, the patch massively impacts the Golden Coast island while also removing a lot of content that is exclusive to Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 1.
Showdown Battle Pass
Much like any other new Fortnite season release, one of the most exciting aspects is the Battle Pass, bringing a wave of brand new cosmetics for players to grind for. The Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 Battle Pass, titled the Showdown Pass, features new designs for some of the fan-favourite characters in Fortnite’s library. Here are all the skins featured in the Chapter 7 Season 2 Showdown Pass:
- The Foundation Reforged
- Exalted Ice King
- The Order Reforged
- Jules Remixed
- Sqibbly
- Bugs Bunny
- Dasha
- Lady Winterfrost
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 Rivals System
The main theme of Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 is the Foundation and the Ice King going head-to-head with each other, with their allies by their side. This will be represented by the new Rivalry system, where players can mark other players as their Rivals during a match. When you log into Chapter 7 Season 2 for the first time, you will be asked to choose a side, and you can then start working to build up your side throughout the season.
You start by approaching a Rivalry Screen to mark a target. Early in Chapter 7 Season 2, the game does the work for you by auto-assigning a rival. Every win you score against your rival grants you Rival Credits and builds your Rivalry Rank, which caps at level 20. As you climb the ladder, the Rivalry Gear machines will offer you Exotic weapons and powerful upgrades like Infinite Slap.
Your Rival Credits do not disappear when the match ends. You can go on a dry run to farm credits, then “whale out” on an ultimate loadout in a later match. If you get eliminated and rebooted, the player who took you out is automatically marked. Taking them out will grant you 2x Rival Credits.
Map Changes
The release of a brand new season brings a ton of new map changes, and Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 is no different. For starters, players can now land at Frigid Fortress, the Ice King’s castle, which seems like a grander version of the Polar Peak POI from the Chapter 1 map. Frigid Fortress replaces Clawsy Lodge in the northern part of the map, covering a large part of it in snow. Additionally, the Foundation has established a new Sanctuary at Classified Canyon.
Here is a list of all the new POIs in Chapter 7 Season 2:
- Frigid Fortress
- New Sanctuary
- Squibbly Shores
- Dark Dominion
New Weapons
The release of a new Fortnite season means brand new toys for you to play with. Epic Games has introduced a vast array of new weapons for Chapter 7 Season 2, including weapons based on the Dark Voyager, the Ice King, and the Foundation. This includes weapons like the Seven Cluster Cannon and the Foundation’s Rift Rifle, which tie into the game’s ongoing storyline. Additionally, players can get new gauntlets for both the Foundation and the Ice King.
Here are all the new weapons introduced with the release of Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2:
- Chaos Reloader Shotgun
- Vector 7 DMR
- Overdrive Grenade
- Foundation’s Power Gloves
- Ice King’s Gauntlets
- The Foundation’s Rift Rifle (Exotic Vector 7 DMR)
- Lawful Explosive Mammoth Pistol
- Seven Cluster Cannon
- Seven Power Gloves
New Items
Along with the new weapons, Epic Games has also added a few new items to Chapter 7 Season 2 that will completely switch up the meta. The Overdrive Grenade acts as a remixed version of the Shockwave Grenades, while the Slapperoni Pizza is the Slap Juice version of the Pizza Party item. Here is a list of all the new items coming to Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2:
- Bouncing Boomstick
- Overdrive Grenade
- Slapperoni Pizza
- Skyline Deployer
New Rift Anomalies
Epic Games has also added new Rift Anomalies with Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2, with each spicing up Battle Royale matches in its own unique ways. Here are all the new Rift Anomalies in Chapter 7 Season 2:
- Rivalry Rumble: All players in a match enter a rivalry at the same time. Players who win their Rivalry during this time earn extra Rival Credits.
- Storm Focus: Modifies the shape of the Storm and telegraphs its final location when a match begins.
- Stabilize Anomaly: Eliminate drone swarms to earn loot for past Fortnite Seasons.
The Foundation’s Power Gloves
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 also features the Foundation’s Power Gloves, a new melee weapon that seems to work similarly to the Nitro Fists from Chapter 5 Season 3. Not only will this item allow for more engagement opportunities, but it will also make for some nifty traversal around the Chapter 7 Season 2 map. The Foundation’s Power Gloves are a Mythic version of the Seven Power Gloves, which are a less powerful version of this melee weapon.
Ice King’s Gauntlets
Much like the Foundation, his rival also packs a punch in Chapter 7 Season 2. The Ice King Gauntlets, dropped by the Ice King boss at Frigid Fortress, allow players to harness the frost powers of the ruler of Polar Peak and shoot ice blasts at enemies, dealing damage while also slowing them down by freezing them.
Drive the Battle Bus
In Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2, you will get the chance to take the wheel of the Battle Bus, as with every match, the game will select one random player to drive the Battle Bus. If you are selected, your goal is to drive the Battle Bus through the rings in the sky to grant everyone in the lobby XP while also spawning Supply Drops at each ring’s coordinates.
Looney Tunes Collab
The Bugs Bunny skin in the Chapter 7 Season 2 Battle Pass will not be the only addition players can expect to see from the beloved cartoon in the Fortnite Looney Tunes crossover. Players will be able to get their hands on Daffy Duck and Lola Bunny in the Fortnite Item Shop shortly after Chapter 7 Season 2 releases. Furthermore, there is speculation that other characters from the Looney Tunes franchise will also make their way to the game down the line.
New Movement Item: Skyline Deployer
The Skyline Deployer is a brand-new movement item added with Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2, and it essentially allows players to carry a portable zipline with them wherever they go. Players can deploy a balloon in the sky and then attach a zipline to it, letting players to make their own angles to attack enemies from.
New NPCs and Bosses
The storyline for Fortnite Chapter 7 is developing at a rapid pace, and Epic has added new NPCs and bosses to reflect these developments. Players can now find characters like the Ice King and the Foundation on the Chapter 7 Season 2 map, with each character serving different roles for players. Here is a list of all the new NPCs and bosses added in Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2:
- Dark Voyager’s Drone
- Ice King Boss & Lady Winterfrost Lieutenant
- Dread Punisher Squibbly
- The Foundation (Hireable NPC)
Much like Chapter 7 Season 1, players will be able to become a Fortnite boss like Ice King if they manage to eliminate him at Frigid Fortress and get their hands on his kit.
New Global Leaderboard
According to the Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 patch notes, the rivalry theme of the new season is expanding past the game itself, as Epic Games will be introducing a new global ranking system where players can pick a side and compete for ranks on a leaderboard. Players can head to the new Showdown website and choose to play for one of two teams, allowing them to compete for prizes like GPUs and consoles, along with exclusive in-game rewards.
Vaulted and Unvaulted Weapons
The release of the new season brings a wave of vaultings and unvaultings to keep the Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 loot pool fresh. With many staples from Chapter 7 Season 1, like the Deadeye Assault Rifle, leaving the game, players can expect Season 2 to establish a whole new meta for the next few months. Here are all the vaulted and unvaulted weapons and items in Chapter 7 Season 2:
Vaulted
- Deadeye Assault Rifle
- Holo Rush SMG
- Vengeful Sniper Rifle
- Arc-Lightning Gun
- Forsaken Vow Blade
- Self-Revive Device
- Wingsuit
- Drivable Reboot Vans
- Grenade
- Flex SMG
- Stealth Splash
Unvaulted
- Combat Assault Rifle
- Nemesis AR
- Chapter 1 Pistol
- Thunder Burst SMG
- Iron Pump Shotgun
- Twin Hammer Shotguns
- Twin Mag SMG
- Mythic Goldfish
- FlowBerry Mist Grenade
- Port-A-Bunker (Zero Build only)
- Shield Bubble Jr. (Zero Build only)
- From Lawless to Lawful: There are Foundation-inspired versions of Chapter 6 Season 2 Exotics
New Arenas Mode
With the release of Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2, Epic Games has also announced the upcoming Arenas mode coming on April 9, 2026. This will be an official boxfight mode where players can take on 1-on-1 battles or join a scrimmage of 16 players with the goal of being the last one standing. The new Arenas mode, understandably, will be exclusively available with building and allow players to test out their boxfight skills while climbing the competitive ladder.
Star Wars in Fortnite UEFN
Apart from the Battle Royale mode, Epic Games has also added Star Wars to Fortnite UEFN, opening up a library of Star Wars characters and other assets in Creative mode. This will allow players to make their own Star Wars-themed experiences with Fortnite characters, and even customize their Lightsabers to their liking.
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 QoL (Quality-of-Life) Improvements and Fixes
The developers have also developed the following QoL changes and bug fixes for Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2:
- Teammate icons now anchor to the edge of the minimap when they are out of range, providing constant visibility of their direction.
- A second ping button can now be mapped for use while the full-screen map is active.
- Opening chests while moving is now more consistent and reliable.
- Window hurdling is smoother when looking up or strafing.
- Resolved a bug that prevented players from moving through windows shattered by specific snipers or assault rifles.
- You can now bash into open doors to close them, preventing them from blocking your path.
- The interaction range for starting conversations with Characters has been increased.
- Fixed a bug that caused ground loot to appear invisible.
- Pickup prompts are better at filtering out items your character cannot use.
- The delay between a Victory Royale and the post-match screen has been extended to allow more time for celebrations.
- Emotes, Jam Tracks, and vehicle items now shuffle properly when using randomized loadouts.
- Location pings can now be canceled by simply re-pinging the area instead of targeting the specific icon.
- Custom build binds set to “R” now function even when you are not currently in build mode.
- Pressing Esc while the inventory is open on keyboard and mouse will now close the inventory rather than the system menu.
- Fixed a Reload-specific issue where Morphite weapons failed to fire or reload consistently.
That’s everything new added with the 40.00 update for Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2. What do you expect to see from the new Showdown season? Tell us in the comments below!
Pranav Maytray
Pranav Maytray
