Fortnite countdown sets stage for live event next Friday
Grande entrance?
Fortnite will hold its next live event on Friday, 6th August at 11.05pm UK time (that's 6.05pm Eastern, or 3.05pm Pacific).
This will be Fortnite's first big live event in quite some time - since last December's big Marvel season finale - and, unusually, it is coming in the middle of the game's current UFO-themed season.
What do we expect to happen? Well, leaks and Epic's own legal documentation have pegged an Ariana Grande concert as coming soon - though the current state of the island suggests this will somehow be wrapped into its current alien theme.
Today, Fortnite received its 17.21 update seemingly designed to prep the game for the event. I'm reminded of how Fortnite slowly got its island ready for the last big concert, for Travis Scott, which entertained 27.7 million people last summer.
Spoilers for next week's event are already doing the rounds on social media, which we've chosen not to post here.
For now, anyone can load into Fortnite and gaze at a big purple countdown clock in the centre of the map, underneath the big UFO mothership. All eyes will be on that next Friday, as its bottom portal opens...
In other Fortnite news, today brings a new alien weapon to the game. See the Plasma Cannon in action below: