Fortnite Chapter 7 Downtime — What to Expect

Once the Zero Hour live event concludes, the only thing standing between players and Fortnite Chapter 7 will be server downtime. New chapters traditionally introduce fresh mechanics, but leaks and early reports suggest that this time, Fortnite may be pushing its innovation further than ever before. With major changes on the horizon, many fans believe this could be one of the most transformative seasons yet.

This article covers everything currently known about downtime for update v39.00, including when maintenance is expected to begin and when servers might come back online.

When Does Downtime for Fortnite Chapter 7 Begin?

The Zero Hour live event, heavily promoted as the grand finale of Chapter 6, will not only close out the storylines from Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 but also act as the official transition into Chapter 7.

Epic Games has confirmed that servers will go offline immediately after the event ends. According to the Xbox event tab, Zero Hour is expected to last roughly 30 minutes, meaning downtime for Chapter 7 should begin at approximately 2:30 PM ET.

When Will Fortnite Servers Be Back Online?

Epic Games has not provided a specific end time for downtime. However, the official Fortnite Twitter account has stated that maintenance will last “several hours.” Because this update marks the start of a brand-new chapter, players should expect the downtime to be significantly longer than a regular seasonal patch.

In preparation for the launch, players are encouraged to preload Fortnite (now available) and monitor the Epic Games Status page, which will clearly indicate when maintenance has finished and the servers are back online.