UPDATE: Fortnite Season 9 downtime will begin at 9am BST in the UK.
The news was confirmed by Epic Games on Twitter: “The Future approaches. Downtime for Season 9 begins tomorrow, May 9 at 4 AM ET(0800 UTC).”
Full patch notes will be revealed when Season 9 downtime begins.
ORIGINAL: Fortnite Season 9 will launch alongside a big new update on May 9.
Fortnite update 9.0 will usher in the release of a brand new season, which means it will be a huge patch with lots of talking points.
Update 9.0 will also be accompanied by an extended period of downtime on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android.
The game is expected to go offline at around 9am UK time and return a couple of hours later.
While the full patch notes are yet to be revealed, the biggest changes will be made to the map.
Based on the pre-release teasers, Tilted Towers will undergo the biggest changes.
The third and final teaser features the letter ‘O’ in the background, alongside a hint that Tilted Towers is getting a futuristic makeover.
“The future is Tilted,” reads a companion tweet.
When combined with letters featured in previous teasers, the letter ‘O’ spells out the word ‘NEO’.
With neo defined as a “new or revived form of”, it’s likely that Tilted Towers will be remodelled for Season 9.
Outside of map changes, Epic Games is also expected to fix multiple issues that have cropped up over the course of the last season.
According to the Fortnite problem page over on Trello, Epic is working on a fix for a problem some players and parties are having with matchmaking.
Other players are experiencing problems walking over Cozy Campfires, which is also being investigated.
Elsewhere, fans can expect a fix for structures not placing consistently when turbo building at high rates.
Others are unable to turbo build after using the Glider Redeploy, while low render quality is causing buildings not to load.
There are even some situations where the Chug Jug will complete its animation but not grant defence bonuses.
The full patch notes will be revealed when Fortnite goes offline for the Season 9 update on May 9.