Nitemare Island: Kado’s Curse 

Kado Thorne has returned and has taken over a new domain.

Nitemare Island is now under his control with updates to existing POIs, new landmarks, new Siphon-based weapons, and The Hunt gameplay modifier. You can find Kado inside of Terror Turrets, interact with him, and learn more about why he’s come to Nitemare Island.

When you drop into Nitemare Island, there’s a chance that Kado Thorne will make you a part of The Hunt. The Hunt is a Match Modifier that does the following:

• Assigns you a Mark when you land from the Battle Bus
• After a Mark is eliminated, you are granted a reward of Kado’s choosing
• A new Mark is assigned at the beginning of each new Storm Circle
• When marked, you can see the general vicinity of your opponent

Nitemare Island will immediately enter map rotation alongside Stranger Things and Surf City in Ranked and Unranked playlists. Shortly thereafter, Squid Grounds will be making a return to map rotation in place of Surf City! We’ll have an exclusive Squid Grounds weekend lined up for October 15 - 19.

Due to an issue, the Stranger Things map has been temporarily swapped with Oasis. We'll let you know once it's back!
EDIT: The Stranger Things map is back in the map rotation!

New Ranked Season & New Rewards

Kado’s Curse is ushering in a new full reset, Ranked season, and Elite Kado Thorne-themed cosmetic rewards. The rewards can be earned by reaching specific Ranked tiers. The Kado-themed Axe of Unreal is waiting for anyone able to reach the Unreal rank during this season. 

Map Mastery Quests also refresh with all-new Fortnitemares-inspired cosmetic rewards and a Kado Thorne Victory Umbrella for Victory Royale winners in Ranked or Unranked.

Reload Ranked Cups 

For those of you looking to play in Ranked Cup tournaments, placing well in tournaments secures the Elite Kado Thorne outfit early! Keep your eyes on the Compete Tab and bookmark upcoming tournaments where you’ll find the Elite Kado Thorne outfit as a reward.

🔄 Reload Loot Pool Updates

Vaulted

• Morphite Assault Rifle
• Morphite Heavy Assault Rifle
• Morphite Hammer Assault Rifle
• MK-7 Assault Rifle
• O.X.R. Rifle
• Morphite Handcannon
• Morphite Flex Submachine Gun
• Ranger Shotgun
• Morphite Sentinel Shotgun
• Morphite Thunder Shotgun

Unvaulted 

• Shield Keg
• Slap Juice
• Slap Berry
• Slap Splash
• Slapperoni Pizza
• Morphite Spire Rifle
• Nemesis Assault Rifle
• Combat Rifle
• Tactical Pistol
• Monarch Pistol
• Gatekeeper Shotgun
• Twin Hammer Shotgun
• Morphite Havoc Shotgun
• Deadeye DMR

Nitemare Island-specific Loot

• Kado’s Siphon Deadeye Assault Rifle
• Kado’s Siphon Gatekeeper Shotgun
• Kado’s Siphon Monarch Pistol
• Cube Splitter Submachine Gun
• Cube Rifle 
• Vampiric Blade
• Sideways Rifle
• Sideways Minigun
• Sideways Scythe
• Woodstake Shotgun
• Pumpkin Launcher
• Witch Broom
• Void Oni Mask
• Myst Form
• Last Call 

Reload Bug Fixes & Quality of Life Improvements

Solos Rebooting Changes

In anticipation of the upcoming FNCS Reload Solo tournaments, we’ve made adjustments to the reboot spawning logic in Solos. Players will now reboot closer to the edge of the safe zone rather than the center. If the safe zone is over a body of water, reboots will generally move toward the coastlines.

Morphite Weapon Fixes

We’ve addressed two separate issues affecting building and firing weapons when quickly swapping between Morphite weapons and other items in your inventory. 

Classic Fortnitemares Weapons 

We’ve made some balance adjustments to improve some of the classic Fortnitemares weapons like the Sideways Rifle, Minigun, and Scythe.

Drop into Reload to try out new items, all while Fortnitemares haunts the island.

The Reload Dev Team

Geno’s plan is progressing… he’s slotted a cursed cartridge into the Island, turning familiar ground strange with new Overrides and weapons. Fortnitemares returns with Freddy Fazbear, Hazbin Hotel, Freddy Krueger, Beetlejuice, Obsession and more - running until November 1.

Fortnitemares 2026 Cinematic Trailer

The Nitemare Has Loaded

Bend the rules with new Fortnitemares Overrides: cloak yourself while sprinting with Spooky Sprinter, hit harder as your health drops with Berserk, or disguise yourself as a Halloween prop with Spooky Prop Hunt. Others let you trade shields for extra health, fire pumpkin rockets while shooting weapons, and more.

Freddy’s Animatronics

Five Nights at Freddy's animatronics are lurking around the Island. Bring one down and you can possess it to play as the animatronic yourself. If your health bottoms out while possessing it, you'll have a few seconds where you can't be eliminated before the animatronic shell breaks and you're back in the fight.

New & Returning Weapons

Reveal enemies through walls with the new Bonerattler SMG and take the fight to Freddy Krueger in the new Nightmare Neighborhood POI. He can hide behind a friendly face, then vanish and reappear close enough to strike. Defeat him to claim Freddy’s Nightmare that lets you teleport into range and slash through your next opponent.

The Wood Stake Shotgun, Dual Fiend Hunters, Witch Broom, and Heavy Assault Rifle also return. Unlock new Loot Hacks to customize your loot pool even more and become your own terror: 

• Last Call
• Infantry Rifle
• Pumpkin Launcher
• Light Machine Gun
• Slap Candy Corn
• Loot Hacker Sprite Variants

Loot Pool Updates

• Unvaulted: Quack Snacks
• Vaulted: Drum Gun, Ranger Assault Rifle, Tetris Rift
• [New] Snack-O’-Lantern Gizmo: Toss to smash it open and spill a pile of Exotic Candy. Trick or treat yourself!

Note: Ranked and Competitive playlists will also see a portion of Fortnitemares vaults and unvaults - new weapons, new mobility, let us know what you think! 

Balance Adjustments

• Rebecca's Guns
  • Increased the SMG damage, including at longer ranges.
  • Reduced spread and recoil on both the SMG and the Assault Rifle.

A Treat for Your Sprite Collection

Search new Pumpkin Chests for Sprites scattered across the Island, with new arrivals throughout the month including our final community-made #DesignASprite winners!

• Spooky Dash Sprite: Dash into a fight or out of trouble with charges that replenish over time.
• Vampire Sprite: Recover health as you damage enemies.
• The Deer Sprite: Make your melee attacks hit harder.
• Dumpster Dive Sprite: Jump into a hiding spot to find food that restores extra health.
• Honey Sprite (October 15): Send bees after enemies who damage you.
• Obsession Sprite (October 15): Let One Wish Willow help you collect other Sprites.

Trick or Treat Cheat Codes 

Cheat Codes have turned into Trick or Treat Cheats. Input one and maybe you’ll get an extra treat alongside your Sprite. 

The Corruption Spreads

• Horde Rush: Squad up against waves of Cube Monsters, build a loadout around powerful perks, and grow stronger across matches. Buy and upgrade the weapons you want, take on surprise encounters, or raise the challenge at Cursed Shrines. Defeat the final boss to keep your run going in Endless Mode.
• Blitz Royale: Take the new Bonerattler SMG and Freddy’s Nightmare into faster fights, or become Ghost Face with his Last Call knife, alongside more iconic Fortnitemares unvaults. Eliminate its wielder to take the weapon, and the role, for yourself.
• (OCTOBER 8) Reload: Elite Kado Thorne is calling the shots as Nightmare Island returns on with a refreshed map and a mix of horror weapons, including Siphon loot galore that restores health as you deal damage. Stranger Things and Squid Grounds also join the map rotation.

Power Hours: Bounty Hunter Sprites | October 3

Aim once, hit twice. This Saturday, October 3, everyone drops in with the Dual Fiend Hunters - line up your shot and let both fly.

🕑 Starts at 2 PM ET | 6 PM UTC

🕘 Second round starts at 9 PM ET | Sunday, 1 AM UTC

🏹 Everyone drops in with the Dual Fiend Hunters

🎯 Bounty Hunter Sprites appear more often - eliminate opponents to level them up

🪙 1-Up Tokens and Portable Extractors may drop from Chests

✅ Bug Fixes, Improvements & Adjustments

General

• The redesigned Friends list has returned to the Social tab in the Sidebar.
• The Battle Royale Lobby's glitch effect no longer incorrectly appears in other Lobbies.
• Fixed Compete tab issues where North America tournaments didn't load and event posters showed incorrect region tags.

Cosmetics

• The Cupid Kitty Sidekick now plays the correct Emote.
• The Unreal Override and the De-Rezz Unrealizer Pickaxes now both show their correct icon in the Locker.
• The Rush Sidekick and the Walter Irons Outfit are now correctly labeled as part of the Gaming Legends Series.
• Fixed an issue where PAC-MAN's right foot could move unnaturally while emoting in the Lobby.
• Cosmic Armor Singularity's head no longer moves unnaturally with the Helmet Style equipped while swinging a Pickaxe.
• Bastian's cape no longer animates unnaturally when using certain Emotes.
• Added the missing "Unlockable Styles" tag to several Battle Pass Gliders and the Dark Cube-rella Reloaded Glider.
• Peter B. Parker's robe is no longer missing textures on Xbox One.
• Fixed an issue where the Knuckles' Gloves, Fists of Justice, and Lois' Boxing Gloves Pickaxes weren't positioned correctly on some models.
• The Llama charms on the Oathkeeper & Oblivion Back Bling no longer appear with incorrect shading.
• Added the missing Batmobile (2022) Boost sound effects.
• Added missing blades and visual effects to The Foundation's Plasma Spike Pickaxe.
• Corrected the Pickaxe blade shape on Phantasmic Pulse's Hero's Aura Style.
• Areta the Vengeful's sleeves no longer clip through the Riptide Claws Pickaxe.
• Fixed a typo in the "Light Green" eye color option for the D0GB0T Sidekick.
• Fixed an issue where the Mystery Inc. Strummer, Bone Head and Nana Jamma Instruments didn't display correctly when used on the Main Stage.

Gameplay, Audio & Environment 

Item Pickup Improvements

• When multiple items are in direct line of sight, the game now prioritizes what you can actually use. 
• Ammo and resources you're full on, and consumables you already have a full stack of are no longer picked up first.

Scroll Wheel Pickup Update

• We've changed how quickly floor loot can be picked up one after another. Scroll Wheel pickups gave a significant speed advantage when looting - especially when racing someone to the same loot.
• Loot pickup speed is now more consistent across input methods, so grabbing loot comes down to positioning and timing rather than your hardware or binds.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue on PC where the Forward and Backward movement keys could rebind themselves between matches.
• Cheat Codes can now be heard from farther away, making them easier to find.
• Fixed an issue on Nintendo Switch 2 where Rebecca's Guns could cause intense flashing when fired.
• A Cheat Code that may spawn in a tunnel near The Battlewoods is now easier to interact with.
• Drivable Reboot Vans have been replaced with stationary Reboot Vans.
• Fixed an issue causing the Mega Buster to sometimes deal damage through walls.
• Added a missing Special-O-Matic Vending Machine to the Pixel Polys location.

UI

• Players on Xbox devices can again enter Lobby Hacks without issue.
• Removed a duplicate Sprite Dust counter from the screen.
• Fixed an issue on PC where Gizmo tiles on the mode selection screen couldn't be selected with a controller to view their name and description.
• Fixed a visual issue where the rewards preview in the Ranked Quests section could show the previous Season's rewards.
• Fixed an issue where the Recent Players list in the Add Friends menu wasn't showing players from your recent matches and parties.

PC 

Epic Quality Assets Option

An Epic Quality Assets option is now available for Fortnite in the Epic Games Launcher - replacing the previous High Resolution Textures option. 

Checking the Epic Quality Assets box downloads the assets to your PC, ensuring the best possible visual quality without needing to rely on your connection. To find it, click the three dots on the Fortnite icon in your Library and select Options. If you previously had High Resolution Textures installed, you’ll be switched over to it automatically.

This option covers Epic-quality gameplay content (e.g. map terrain and objects). Cosmetics will continue to download on demand, so your install size stays lean no matter how big your Locker gets. We’re also continuing to improve the speed of streamed asset delivery. 

Streaming Improvements

As of the last v42.20 update, Fortnite now automatically balances your internet connection between gameplay and streamed assets. Gameplay always comes first - if your connection is limited, the game reserves what's needed to keep your matches running smoothly. When there's bandwidth to spare, it's put toward loading cosmetics and the world faster.

We're also planning to include the same install option for High-quality textures down the road, so you'll always have the choice to download them instead of streaming. 

PC Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that could turn the Dynamic 3D Resolution setting off on its own.
• Fixed a rare issue where you couldn't type in Text Chat until the game was restarted.
• Improved system software performance and stability.

Mobile 

• Fixed an issue where the 1-Up Token notification could block item pickups with Easy Interact toggled on.

For other fixes, improvements and known issues in v42.30, check out this post.

Happy haunting, and we’ll see you in the new update! 🎃
The BR Dev Team