Fortnite Battle Royale have introduced sweeping changes to the map, including the snow biome that remains to the south-west and the desert area that is still standing to the south-east.
Yet, Fortnite Season 9 has refreshed the map in a different way. Tilted Towers and Retail Row, which were ravaged in the ‘unvaulting’ event that happened on May 4, have been re-introduced as Neo Tilted and Mega Mall – with Tilted now having a new way to get around the map inside too.
Unlike Season 8, there are no ‘new’ additional locations like we saw with Lazy Lagoon and Sunny Steps – even though Retail Row and Tilted Towers have been reimagined. Both Neo Tilted and Mega Mall have taken the places of their predecessors, not moving an inch on the map.
The Season 9 patch notes state that the locations “emerged from the destruction of the Volcano,” and because of the Volcano blowing its top, it has also been changed to ‘Pressure Plant’ with the funnel being completely wiped off the map.
Neo Tilted
Neo Tilted towers has taken up all the land of the original Tilted Towers as Epic Games have dragged it kicking and screaming into the future.
There are a ton of new ‘slipstreams’ around the area too – these are the new method of transportation around the map now, similar to how the Geysers were introduced with Season 8.
The new tilted towers. #Fortnite #XboxShare pic.twitter.com/hIXTkefToQ
— kayla's fortnite clips (@Fortnit23606361) May 9, 2019
Mega Mall
The land that remained at Retail Row following the Volcano destruction has been scooped up and turned into a Mega Mall – complete with a brand new Pizza Pit location too.
The parking lot shootouts may still remain despite the change, but the area you once knew like that back of your hand is long gone.
Mega Mall ‘Stranger Things’ easter egg
We’ve already seen a number of high profile crossovers in Fortnite Battle Royale – with the Avengers: Endgame being the most recent. Yet, we might have another on our hands.
Inside the Mega Mall location is an Ice Cream parlor with the name Scoops Ahoy. While that may not seem like all that much, the name and look of the area is eerily similar to the location shown in the recent Stranger Things season three trailer that was released by Netflix.
This might be an early hint to a potential project together or there might just be a few Stranger Things fans on the Epic Games design team – but it’s something to keep an eye on before the show releases on July 4.
Found this easter egg in fortnite referring to the Scoops Ahoy shop that appeared in Stranger things season 3 pic.twitter.com/6ynBMTKjfE
— I Trxtxn I (@Tristan44162271) May 9, 2019
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Pressure Plant
The inside of the Volcano has been renamed as ‘Pressure Plant’ as has a somewhat similar look to Dusty Divot – with the pop-up lab tents and temporary stairs.
There could well be some more changes along the way for the Volcano, and considering it looks way different to its original look, it might not be too long before it’s wiped off the map completely.
Junk Junction
No, Junk Junction hasn’t had an overhaul like Neo Tilted, Mega Mall or Pressure Plant, but there are some easter eggs to be found if you decide to drop in.
The recently destroyed Tilted Towers Clock Tower can now be broken down into materials as it stands towards the back of Junk Junction – as well as a few others that you might recognize from the Unvaulting event.
Loot Lake
This was an ever changing point of interest in Fortnite Battle Royale during Season 8 and now, in Season 9, Loot Lake has transformed once again.
While this might still be one of the last remaining original locations by name, the screengrab below will give fans an idea of just how different it looks following the v9.00 update.
Sky Platforms
The battle royale game has never had sky platforms before. Well, at least until Season 9 came along.
Here’s a guide on how to visit all 7 Sky Platforms in Fortnite Battle Royale to help complete the Season 9, Week 1 challenges, where you will have to visit them all, which could be particularly useful as not everybody will know where to find them just yet. One, which is located near Dusty Divot, can be found below.
John Wick?
There have been a lot of major changes to the map for people to check out, but don’t let those overshadow some of the smaller additions – such as this house.
Or, as many fans of the game have suggested already, property. The building below is rumored to have been added to Fortnite Battle Royale in connection with a future John Wick event in Season 9. Some content has already been leaked for the ‘Wick’s Bounty’ LTM, such as a possible challenge list.
More changes potentially coming soon
Despite the brand new, futuristic theme, Tilted and Retail are the only areas to get a brand new update, so it might not be out of the realm of possibility that other areas get a similar change too.
It remains to be seen if Epic has any plans for an in-season map update, or if these three map changes are the only ‘new’ points of interest that we will get to play at this season.
This post was last updated on May 10, 2019 at 12:05 am (EST).