We’ve been waiting a really long time for Fortnite‘s Simpsons season, which has been rumored for what feels like a decade at this point. Finally, though, the time has come, and The Simpsons season is starting on the evening of Saturday, November 1. And it’s one of the biggest Fortnite takeovers we’ve ever seen, with a Simpsons-themed battle pass, and entirely new cel-shaded map for Battle Royale, and a totally revamped loot pool–all for a season that lasts just a month.
So, yeah, there’s a lot going on here. Let’s run through everything we know about so far–which is a lot, because Epic let a bunch of influencers play the new season and they’ve been sharing their content. Just keep in mind there’s likely to be plenty of surprises in store as the season goes on.
Fortnite x Simpsons battle pass
This Simpsons-themed battle pass, which lasts for just a month, includes five skins. Three of them are Simpsons characters–Homer, Marge, and Ned Flanders–with the other two being Simpsons-fied versions of Fortnite characters Peely and Fishstick. Each of the skins has alternate styles, like Evil Homer and Witch Marge. The new Peely is the time-gated bonus skin–all the Simpsons characters are in the linear part of the pass.
While it’s smaller than a normal battle pass, the Simpsons pass still costs 1,000 V-Bucks, and you can also unlock it by subscribing to Fortnite Crew.
Fortnite x Simpsons new map
The Chapter 6 island is gone, and it’s been replaced with a slightly smaller map based on Springfield, the hometown of the Simpsons, which has a capacity of 80 players–down from the usual 100. The whole map is cel-shaded and full of well-known locations from the show, like Moe’s Tavern, the Qwik-E-Mart, and the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
New Fortnite x Simpsons loot pool
With a couple of notable exceptions, the weapons making up this season’s arsenal are existing Fortnite guns, while you take care of your health and shield needs with a pile of new Simpsons-themed items.
The new Simpsons weapon is Mr. Blasty, a revolver with an exotic variant that attaches balloons to anyone you shoot with it. There’s also the mythic Jebediah’s Protective Helm, which protects you from a single headshot from any weapon.
And there are a variety of healing items, some of which come with fun bonus effects–like how the Super Squishee makes you faster and gives you unlimited sprint, and eating a Blinky fish gives you temporary teleportation powers. There are more mundane healing items too, like Duff splashes and Krusty Burgers.
Returning Fortnite weapons:
- Suppressed assault rifle
- Striker AR
- Tactical Shotgun
- Thunder Shotgun
- Ranger Shotgun
- Compact SMG
- Infantry Rifle
- Suppressed Pistol
- Shockwave Grenades
Sidekicks
Starting during the Simpsons season, you’ll be able to buy little companions who will follow you around and emote sometimes. The first of these is Peels, a banana dog included in the Simpsons pass, and several others are slated to hit the item shop on November 7. No collab sidekicks have been announced yet, but some are surely on the way.
But sidekicks have already inspired a lot of consternation amongst players, because you’ll only be allowed to customize your sidekick’s appearance once before locking it permanently. If you’d like to change, for example, your Raptor’s scale color later, you’ll have to buy it again. And judging by the rumored prices, doing so won’t be cheap.
Random in-match events
Each match will include some sort of special event, like a meltdown at the Nuclear Power Plant, which will be revealed on the battle bus blimp at the start of each map. These events seem to be a bit more complicated than these sorts of Fortnite mechanics usually are, which is fun.
