Fortnite gets technical, adding DirectX 12 support in this week's update

This week's Fortnite update is much like any other. A few bug fixes here, some rebalances there, clean the blood off the grass for another night's mass-murder. But one of patch 11.20's least noticeable updates may, in fact, be its most important. Epic Games have added DirectX 12 support to their massive battle royale, laying the groundwork for future graphical and technical flourishes while providing a nice little performance boost for players with the power to support it.

Oh, hey, and they brought back patch notes while they're at it.

This week's 11.20 update to Fortnite includes an opt-in upgrade to DirectX 12, a newer version of Microsoft's practically-ubiquitous 3D graphics API. Fortnite currently requires a DX11-compatible GPU, though you'll need something much more recent to take advantage of the new feature.

Right now, Epic claim that high-end PC players who opt-in to DX12 should "experience a higher and steadier frame rate" in Fortnite, as the more up-to-date tech "delivers better CPU performance and allows for the distribution of rendering jobs across multiple cores."

Eventually, Epic hope to use DX12 to add unspecified new features to the game. For now, though, it's been left as an optional extra to see how players respond to the new tech.

Beyond the technical update, there's the usual crate of updates in this week's patch. After disappearing for a while, the Bandage Bazooka is back in the game - not that I'll ever pick it up anyway. A full changelist can be found over on the 11.20 patch notes.

You'd also better get used to Fortnite: Chapter 2 - Season 1 (Season 11?), because it's sticking around for a little while longer. Epic announced that the current season has been extended through early February to make room for winter events, including a "live experience that you won’t want to miss".

Planning another Weezer concert are we, Fortnite?