Fortnitemares 2026 Starts Tomorrow: Collabs, Skins and Map Changes

Fortnite's Halloween event, Fortnitemares 2026, kicks off tomorrow, October 1, with the v42.30 update. Epic Games has lined up one of the biggest collab rosters in the event's history, and the island is getting a noticeable makeover. According to Beebom, downtime begins at 4 AM ET, and the event should go live about two hours later. Here's what's coming to the game.

The headline addition is Fortnite's first official collab with Five Nights at Freddy's. The update brings skins for the animatronics from the original game, Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, along with accessories such as Chica's Cupcake and Back Blings shaped like Freddy and Bonnie. Judging by the teaser, the Freddy skin will be reactive: his face falls apart just like during the jumpscares in the original game. The collab trailer is set to "Join Us for a Bite," the well-known fan song by JT Music.

FNAF is only part of the lineup. Epic has also confirmed several horror icons: Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, complete with his striped sweater and bladed glove, Beetlejuice from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the faceless Slender Man, and a character in the Statue of Liberty mask from The Purge: Election Year. This year's anime collab features Black Clover, with the trailer showing Asta in his demon form. The horror film Obsession rounds out the confirmed collabs.

Epic has original characters in store too. The FNAF teaser revealed four new skins: a porcelain doll with a plush rabbit who looks like a creepy take on Alice in Wonderland, a voodoo rag doll with pins stuck in her hair, a doll styled as a geisha, and a robot covered in red neon lines. The three dolls share the same style, so they may arrive as a bundle.

Leakers say more collabs are on the way. According to HYPEX, Ahri from League of Legends, characters from the Roblox game 99 Nights in the Forest, and the Neighbor from Hello Neighbor could all show up during the event. The skins will most likely hit the Item Shop gradually throughout October rather than all at once on October 1.

The Fortnitemares 2026 island leans into the event's tagline, "The Game Is Cursed." In the trailer, glowing pink cables wrap around the map, a giant screen with a glitchy grin looms over town, and small toothy creatures and glowing pumpkins roam the streets. According to FRVR, Battlewoods will be replaced by a new Halloween POI, a location that has been slowly changing since the v42.20 update. The FNAF collab also adds Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria to the map, and the teaser shows it both inside and out. The trailer hints at a mode where players have to survive a night shift among the animatronics, though Epic hasn't confirmed it yet.

Leaks point to classic Halloween items returning to the loot pool, including the Pumpkin Launcher, Wood Stake Shotgun, Witch Broom, and Fiend Hunter Crossbow. The broom already appears in the trailer, so its return looks all but certain. The League of Legends collab could add Ahri's Orb of Deception as a Mythic, and according to leakers, water in some parts of the map will turn purple and grant a Phase Dash. Insiders also expect a Sprites update, possibly including one that resembles the Impostor from Among Us.

Fortnitemares quests with free rewards are also coming back. They usually include at least one free skin along with Back Blings, Sprays, and Loading Screens, but Epic will only reveal this year's quest list once the update goes live. Keep in mind that Rocket Racing is also leaving Fortnite on the same day.