Fortnite finally leaves Early Access after three years

(Image credit: Epic Games)

Three years after launch, Epic Games has announced that Fortnite is finally coming out of Early Access, along with the news that the Save the World PvE campaign will remain as a premium paid experience rather than going free-to-play. 

In an update posted on Epic's website, the Fortnite team revealed that the PVE campaign Save The World will be coming out of its Early Access period along with the game's Battle Royale and Creative modes. 

"Fortnite has always been in a constant state of evolution since we first began development, and so much as changed over the years as we've played and developed the game with you," the post begins. "As we near the three-year anniversary of Fortnite and Save the World's release we wanted to share an update on our development plans." 

"Today we're bringing Save the World out of Early Access and have decided that it will remain a premium experience rather than going free-to-play. Development of new content will slow down after this official release, but the adventure doesn't end here for Save the World." 

Epic previously revealed plans to make Save the World free-to-play, but this latest announcement officially confirms that the co-op building adventure will not be going in that direction. While the content for the Save the World campaign will now "slow down", and the main story is complete, the post states that "there are still adventures to be had" in seasonal events. 

Fortnite's Battle Royale and Creative game modes are also leaving Early Access, and over the upcoming months Save the World will no longer support Fortnite Battle Royale cosmetic purchases. However, any existing purchases of cosmetics will continue to function in both modes. A future update is expected to be announced when this change will occur. 

And finally, all paid for Founders packs will also be upgraded to the next level and will unlock rewards included in the upgraded back for free "courtesy of the Homebase." Anyone who owns a copy of the Ultimate Edition will receive the new Metal Team Leader Pack and 8,000 V-Bucks. 

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Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.