Fortnite map changes coming soon as Rift Beacon activates in desert

A brand new Rift Beacon has appeared at a different location in Fortnite Battle Royale, hinting at some more major map changes coming in the near future. 

While many Fortnite fans may have expected Epic Games to roll out the big guns for Season X by overhauling the map or revealing a brand new one, that hasn’t been the case. Instead, the developers have continually updated the points of interest with new twists.

Neo Tilted was the first to go, becoming Tilted Town – where nobody can build or break. Then, Mega Mall made way for Retail Row, allowing players to do battle with Fiends in a bid for free loot. 

The most recent tweak to the landscape saw the indoor soccer pitch destroyed entirely, leaving a crater in its place. These changes have all been pre-impacted by the game’s Rift Beacon moving location, and now, it’s popped up somewhere new.

The Rift Beacon appeared at Dusty Depot and has since moved around the map.

If you drop into a game of Fortnite Battle Royale and head to the southeast portion of the map, specifically towards Trucking Oasis, you’ll get to see the Rift Beacon activated and preparing for destruction.

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Unlike when the beacon was located by the indoor soccer stadium, this time it is clearly activated and already appears to be drawing energy. However, it’s unknown if there will be more stages to its activation as time goes on.

The Rift Beacon is now in the Fortnite desert.

One thing that players can estimate, however, is just how much damage it will do. According to a post from Reddit user EpicrockerTT, the last rift zones have been approximately 250 meters in diameter from the rift beacon’s location.

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If the same holds true this time around, the Trucking Oasis would be completely destroyed and so too would part of the Western Village that sits towards the ocean.

The circle represents the apparent impact of the Rift Beacon.

Just how exactly the surrounding area changes, however, is still a mystery as Epic has dished out a number of different looks with the rift zones.

We won’t have to wait too long though as the official German Fortnite Twitter account revealed that the v10.20 patch would be coming to the game on Tuesday, August 27 – with downtime starting at 4 am EDT/1am pm PDT/9am BST, and 10 am CEST.