Fortnite's Original Mode Is Finally Going Free-To-Play In April, Even On Switch 2

The Save the World mode that started it all for Fortnite will be accessible for free to almost all players starting April 16, reversing a decision by Epic Games nearly six years ago.

Save the World is a PvE sandbox survival mode that pits four players against hordes of monsters. With Fortnite's building mechanics, the mode has often been billed as "Minecraft meets Left 4 Dead."

Save the World will remain playable on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S; previously accessible by purchasing a Starter Pack in the Fortnite Store (usually costing 1,500 V-Bucks), it'll be free-to-play on those platforms beginning April 16. It'll also be available for the Nintendo Switch 2 version, which wasn't the case when the Switch 2 port launched back in June. Mobile devices and the Switch 1 won't support the mode.

Players can pre-register for the mode online to contribute to a community goal--the more players who register, the more rewards participants will receive when the mode goes free-to-play. Current Save the World players will receive their rewards before then. Meanwhile, Epic is pausing new purchases of Save the World starting March 11 at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT, but existing players can still access the mode while receiving additional rewards.

Fortnite was revealed all the way back in 2011 at the Spike Video Game Awards, the predecessor to The Game Awards--which should give you some perspective of how long ago that was. It was initially revealed as the survival game we know now as Save the World; news of the game was fleeting until its paid early access release in July 2017. Then, the free-to-play Battle Royale mode launched two months later amidst PUBG mania, and the rest is history.

Epic's initial plan was to eventually release Save the World as a free-to-play mode, but the company went back on this when it left early access in 2020. The reasons for Epic's about-face are unclear, but it comes shortly after the company announced a controversial change to Fortnite's currency model.

V-Bucks are rising in price to, in Epic's words, "help pay the bills." Additionally, Fortnite's Battle Pass will cost fewer V-Bucks but also offer fewer V-Bucks as rewards. Basically, Fortnite is going to cost more money for devoted players. The changes go into effect when Chapter 7 Season 2 begins on March 19.

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