Fortnite season 4 arrives with an answer to the mystery of the meteor

At long last, developer Epic Games has revealed the nature of Fortnite’s mysterious meteor with the launch of season four today. Now that the meteor has crashed, it has left craters scattered across the island, transforming the game’s iconic map. The reveal brings to a close months of intense and often giddy theorizing among Fortnite’s massive player base, as Epic dropped in-game clues and other hints throughout season three that helped form a cohesive and unlikely narrative for a game that largely centers on competitive multiplayer.

Many had initially assumed that the map’s busy in-game metropolis, Tilted Towers, would be jettisoned via deep impact, while a more popular theory developed in the past few weeks suggested the nearby and largely vacant Dusty Depot location would in fact be the victim. The latter ended up being true, and the depot is now known as Dusty Divot and features a much larger impact crater. Throughout the map, each crater features new glowing rocks that can create low gravity for players who consume them. There are likely plenty of other new secrets that players will slowly uncover during the upcoming days and weeks.

A number of clues seemed to affirm that at the very least something would be destroyed, with the rumors first starting to swirl when telescopes aimed at a mysterious blue object in the sky popped up months back and intensifying in the weeks since with warning signs popping up at Titled and other ominous clues pointing to a cataclysmic event. Eventually, the ongoing narrative culminated with in-game meteorites falling at increasing frequency this past week and all but ensuring that a collective storyline would be taking a dramatic turn.

Outside of the comet, Epic has also been teasing something comic book related, including images depicting what appeared to be the faces of superheroes drawn into the tail of a comet graphic. The common theory was that the meteor was in fact an alien spaceship or some type of weapon sent to Earth by an invading alien species. Similar to how season three was space themed, season four would be superhero themed and feature Marvel-inspired cosmetic skins and emotes conveniently timed to the launch of Avengers: Infinity War.

For the most part, new superhero content comes in the form of a new quest line for “Save the World,” which includes a five-part storyline that involves putting together a team of superheroes. However, Epic’s Battle Pass subscription does feature plenty of superhero-themed skins to unlock.

The new season is live starting today, and you can check out the full list of changes here.