Fortnite Secretly Makes Major Gameplay Change, But It's Probably Temporary

Fortnite's latest update on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices has seemingly made a secret change to a major gameplay mechanic: storm circles. Players have noticed that the first circle now encompasses the entire map in most games. In other words, it's bigger. Meanwhile, the storm phase is quicker before the zone shrinks for phase 2. It also appears that the storm now closes quicker.

Overall, the changes don't amount to anything super noteworthy, or at least the changes made aren't enough to really disrupt the current meta. This week players noticed the change en masse though. So, what's up? In the update, Epic Games made no note of zone changes, which leads many to think it's a secret change done under the nose of the community.

That said, prominent players -- such as Ali-A -- are suggesting these changes aren't permanent. Rather they are temporary for the upcoming event this weekend. In other words, it appears Midas is controlling the Storm via the Doomsday Device. However, while this theory seems quite plausible, if not probable, it hasn't been validated in any meaningful way.

At the moment of publishing, Epic Games has not commented on any of the speculation or theories regarding changes to how zones work, and it's unlikely it will, especially this close to an event. Not only does Epic Games rarely comment on speculation, but if the speculation is accurate, and this has to do with the game's upcoming event, there's not much it really could say without giving details away.

Fortnite is available for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices. For more news, rumors, leaks, and all other types of coverage on the free-to-play and popular battle royale game, be sure to peruse all of our past and all of our most recent coverage of the game by clicking right here.

Meanwhile, as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. What do you think Epic Games has in store for Fortnite's big event this weekend?