In the online game Fortnite , the servers went down on December 29. Since around 5:00 PM German time, there have been many error messages, people are stuck in queues and are frustrated. Since 7:00 PM, the Fortnite servers have been offline. We at MeinMMO are keeping an eye on what Epic says and the timeline of the outage in Fortnite. What could be the reason that the servers are now offline? Also, on December 30, there are again issues in Fortnite: The game is not connecting properly.
This is the timeline of the server outage in Fortnite on December 29:
- At 5:13 PM German time, Epic Games reported via Fortnite that there were issues with login, matchmaking, and other difficulties. Epic is looking into it.
- At 7:13 PM German time, the message came: “Fortnite is currently unavailable,” players are unable to log in. They are investigating the issue and will inform once the servers are back online.
For those who cannot play Fortnite at the moment, it should be noted: It’s not you, your Internet provider, or the new traffic light coalition in Berlin – these are global issues right now.
The message from Epic Games aligns with the timeline of the issues, which can be observed through Google Trends: Search queries for Fortnite spiked starting from 4:50 PM German time, reached a peak at 7:08 PM, and have remained at a consistently high level since then.
Fortnite’s servers were regularly down during peak times
What is the reaction? Players who have been involved with Fortnite for a few years are familiar with server outages.
During the “growth phase” of Fortnite, around 2018, there were regular server outages. At that time, Fortnite was flooded, so popular was “Fortnite: Battle Royale,” a hastily built emergency game back then.
In recent years, however, such problems have become less frequent.
Back then, much frustration spread among players when they had to wait days for the game to be back online. There were indeed compensations for long outages:
On December 29, users on Twitter commented on the server outage at Fortnite rather amusingly and ironically:
- One user demands 100,000 V-Bucks and the skin “Renegade Raider” as compensation
- Another user writes: “The game is dead (literally)”
What could be the cause of the server outage? If the problems began at 5:00 PM German time and escalated at 7:00 PM, this suggests some sort of overload or “high demand,” as around 7:00 PM European prime time is expected, during which the most users worldwide are likely online in Fortnite.
However, there is no evidence that Fortnite would have an extreme player peak at the end of 2021. The last major spike in interest occurred on December 5, when Chapter 3 of Fortnite began with a major event.
Epic provides an update at 9:10 PM with a new message
Update 9:13 PM: At 9:10 PM, the latest message from Fortnite came. They stated that they are “working on a fix” to bring Fortnite back and thank everyone for their patience.
Currently, Fortnite’s game servers are offline while they look for solutions to the stability issues. They will provide updates when they have more information.
Update 10:00 PM: There have been no new updates in the last 50 minutes.
In the comments on Twitter, people say:
- “This is completely crazy. Your servers have been down for 4 hours while kids are on winter break.”
- A user empathizes with Epic and says: “Sucks for you, that you now get a break and then still have to work there.”
At the moment, it seems that Epic Games is still working on the issues with the server down in Fortnite. In the USA, in North Carolina, where Epic Games is located, it is currently 4 PM. This will likely be a hot afternoon for them in emergency staffing, as many responsible technicians will also be missing during the holiday season.
Update 11:00 PM: There is still no news from Epic Games. The servers remain down. The worldwide interest in Fortnite even reached another peak at 10:56 PM. This indicates that the situation is becoming even more critical.
Update December 30, 12:00 AM: Even at midnight, there is still no news. It looks like the problem is going to take significantly longer.
Fortnite servers back online at 12:20 AM, first users report
Update 12:30 AM: There are now increasing reports that the servers in Fortnite are coming back online. On Twitter, first users are reporting they are getting back in. The search interest in Fortnite has also significantly decreased since 12:22 AM. The situation seems to be easing.
Around 12:50 AM, Fortnite officially announced that the servers are back online. They will discuss compensation with fans next week.
Problems in Fortnite continue on December 30
Update December 30, 6:14 PM: No good news for Fortnite fans on December 30. There are again problems today. At 5:39 PM German time, Fortnite reported that they are investigating the login issues in the game.
Since around 5 PM German time, the global interest in Fortnite has shown that there are again problems in the online shooter – just like yesterday on December 29. The issues started at 5 PM and led to a server down in Fortnite at 7 PM.
Hopefully, this will not repeat itself today.
Update, December 31, 2:40 PM: Epic has now hinted that there will be compensation:
Fortnite was offline for one evening, Epic promises 2022 “compensation” – Are there gifts?
