Watch the Fortnite Doomsday event and see why the storm is now the ocean

(Image credit: Epic Games)

The Fortnite Doomsday event is over and it has a big change for one of the most basic elements of the game: the storm is now the ocean.

The hotly anticipated event finally started the transition to Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 3 after several delays. As the countdown struck zero, players watched the device ascend from The Agency building, ringed by mechanical towers that emerged from the lake. The device activated in a sudden surge of electricity, sending energy pulsing out through the towers and into the storm. After a few pulses, it looked like the storm had finally been beaten - giving players a few moments to wander an unusually bright and cheerful version of the map.

Then it came back - but different. The storm assumed a new form as a towering ring of water around the map. You can even see sharks and other aquatic wildlife suspended in it. Make no mistake, stepping into this new extra-aquatic storm will still hurt you, you'll just be able to swim around as you get zapped to death.

While the event didn't send players to strange fractal realms or include a musical performance by a towering Travis Scott, it arguably had a stranger interlude: a series of visits to an unassuming office. These trips took place in first-person, and included the usual office ambience of somebody on a phone call. Eventually they ended the call and walked into the room, and we were greeted head-on with Jonesy. "Can you… hear me?" Jonesy asked, clearly shocked to see us, before we were sent back to the island.

Is this a vision of the past, when Jonesy was a paper pusher before the storm? Is this a window into an alternate reality where memos and meeting invites are Jonesy's weapon of choice? Or is something else going on? Hopefully we'll find out more when the next season begins on Wednesday. Until then, keep an eye on that tidal wall.

Fortnite patch notes | Fortnite tips | Fortnite map | Fortnite weapon upgrade benches | Fortnite achievements | Fortnite Creative codes | Fortnite 2FA | How to enable cross platform Fortnite matches | How to level up fast in Fortnite | How to get free Fortnite V-Bucks | Fortnite Starter Pack

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in
inZOI Character Studio screenshot showing a young woman with short black/pink hair, black cat-like ears, and a black blouse with a bowtie
The creator of upcoming life sim Inzoi says he was "recklessly brave to even think about creating a game of this scale"
Rise of the Ronin
A year after its PS5 launch, Rise of the Ronin debuts on PC to "Mixed" reviews and performance complaints: "Stuttering on a 4090 is just... no"
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Latest in News
inZOI Character Studio screenshot showing a young woman with short black/pink hair, black cat-like ears, and a black blouse with a bowtie
The creator of upcoming life sim Inzoi says he was "recklessly brave to even think about creating a game of this scale"
Rise of the Ronin
A year after its PS5 launch, Rise of the Ronin debuts on PC to "Mixed" reviews and performance complaints: "Stuttering on a 4090 is just... no"
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog