Season 8 of Fortnite could be make or break for the current king of battle royale. While it’s still one of the most popular games in the world, the industry was shocked when Epic revealed that revenue had declined by 50% in January. Then there’s the hot new title in town, Apex Legends, which refines the battle royale genre in new and interesting ways.
Still, there’s lots to look forward to in Fortnite Season 8 and Epic’s been steadily releasing teaser images this week in advance of its official start on February 28th. The first was a pirate’s hook, which came with the rhyme “‘X’ Marks The Spot/Treasure abound/Loot that has been lost/Can always be found. 4 days to Season 8.” The second, meanwhile, was of a snake, complete with the rhyme: “Sssomething shimmers/Within the cave…/But beware of those/Who arrive on waves. 3 days to Season 8.”
Now, we have a third image. You can see it in the gallery below along with the others and it comes with the rhyme: “Awaken beasts of fire and ash/Battle it out/And loot the stash. 2 days to Season 8.”
If we’re following this pattern, then it seems that we’re due one more teaser image tomorrow in advance of the launch (it looks like the four of them put together will form a skull). But what do we make of these cryptic rhymes and photos?
Well, it seems that the current season will end with some gigantic cataclysm (teased by the fissures appearing across the map), and given all the pirate imagery and mention of treasure, perhaps we’ll get a more radically remixed map that incorporates some kind of nautical elements. Awakening beasts of fire and ash could also be a hint towards rideable dragons, which would make sense given the recent announcement that they’re retiring planes.
In any case, Epic will be releasing the exact start times of the new season of Fortnite very soon, so stay tuned if you want to be present for what players are dubbing ‘the big one.’