Fortnite Save the World Goes Free April 16

Fortnite Save the World is finally going free-to-play. After nine years behind a paywall, Epic Games will make the original PvE looter-shooter mode available to all players on April 16, 2026.

How Fortnite Save the World becomes free

Epic confirmed the change via a new Save the World site and announced the F2P date. Save the World originally launched in July 2017 — predating Battle Royale — and much of Fortnite’s early assets came from this mode. The free release lets longtime fans and newcomers experience co-op base-building, looting, and wave-based PvE for the first time without purchase.

Platforms and availability for Save the World

Save the World will be available on PC and consoles, including Nintendo Switch 2. It will not appear on smartphones or the original Switch console. This wider platform support helps players jump into co-op missions and base defense across modern systems.

Rewards, registration, and how to claim

You can pre-register with your Epic Games account on the new site to unlock community milestone rewards. When 300,000, 700,000 and 1,000,000 players register, items (including the Snowstrike Hero skin exclusive to the OG mode) will unlock for all registrants.

Save the World offers a different Fortnite flavor — cooperative objectives, base-building, and PvE progression. Ready to revisit the mode that helped build Fortnite’s universe? Will you sign up and aim for the Snowstrike Hero?