Fortnite Releasing Its PUBG-Style Battle Royale Mode Next Week, For Free

While some players are (patiently) awaiting PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds arrival on Xbox One later this year, they'll have a hell of an alternative waiting for them as soon as next week.

That's when Epic Games will be dropping its latest update for its building/survival/action game Fortnite, which is being dubbed Battle Royale. In it, players will be fending off for themselves, with 100 players taking on one another all in the name of survival. So, yeah, definitely very PUBG like.

The company announced the release date for the mode in its blog today, noting that it's set to arrive on September 26th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC alike. It will be free of charge, and you can check out the trailer for the mode above, which sets up all kinds of survival possibilities.

Furthermore, the team did note that items would be available for purchase, but won't provide any sort of competitive edge gameplay-wise. "Fortnite Battle Royale is free and we will not sell items that give a competitive advantage. At some point in the future we will sell other things including cosmetics or compendium-like content," the company noted in its announcement.

The publisher also revealed that it would introduce squads on the same day, as well as improvements to a number of systems, including combat, controls, weapons, movement and inventory, though it didn't provide too many specifics. More than likely, we'll get that breakdown next week when the update drops.

Epic Games also hinted at some forthcoming content that will be headed to the game in October, including a new "Block Party" mode that looks to involve plenty of players, as well as some "spooky Halloween content" that may include bonus costumes and other items. Again, not too many details yet, but we're likely to know more in just a few weeks' time.

Battle Royale should go a long way to helping boost Fortnite's numbers even higher, and the fact it's coming for free shouldn't hurt either. Now it's just a question of seeing how well you survive – and if your PUBG battle skills can work in a different game.

Fortnite is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

-------

Want to win a killer Kingsman: The Golden Circle prize pack? 2 lucky winners will get the chance to win some epic Kingsman gear by clicking here or the image above! Also click here to find out when Kingsman: The Golden Circle is playing near you and pre-order your tickets for your local Regal Cinema!