Log into Fortnite right now and you’ll find that the game’s most-played mode is, very unusually, not its main Battle Royale option. Instead the new Blitz Royale is currently ruling the roost — but what is it? And why is this fresh offering from Epic Games so popular?
Blitz Royale launched this week in Fortnite’s latest update, alongside Expeditions, a new story-infused PVE Lego experience, and a Bruno Mars-starring new season of Guitar Hero-like Fortnite Festival.
But, as has continually been the case, it is the mode closest to Fortnite’s classic Battle Royale that has broken out — and, for now, Blitz Royale feels like it has found a fresh niche for players keen to try something faster-paced and more quickfire.
As its name suggests, Blitz Royale matches are meant to take less time overall and power-up players much faster than in a classic Battle Royale offering. The mode’s map, currently based on Fortnite’s classic OG Island, is a fraction of its size, building is disabled, and there’s an in-match levelling system to grant weapons and power-ups, meaning there’s no need to spend time scrounging for loot.
That said, other Battle Royale staples remain: a fast moving storm circle, limited inventory and need to be the last player standing. Over the next four weeks (Epic Games is yet to specifically state that Blitz Royale will be a permanent addition), various loot pools will be offered — including items and power-granting medallions from various classic Fortnite eras.
Blitz Royale is playable within Fortnite on every platform, but is the first mode designed with a specific piece of hardware in mind: your phone.
Timed to hit shortly after Fortnite’s triumphant return to the iPhone App Store in the US, following years of legal wrangling with Apple, Blitz Royale is meant to appeal to those wanting a bite-size battle royale, perfect for a quick bus journey or coffee break. Even the Battle Bus flies in faster at the start of games.
A suitably quick trailer for Blitz Royale claims you can secure victory within five minutes — around a quarter of the time usually necessary to secure a Victory Royale in Fortnite’s regular Battle Royale and Zero Build modes.
Right now, Fortnite stats show around 240,000 players in Blitz Royale, making it the game’s biggest mode by some margin, aftr hitting 443,000 players during peak hours last night. Battle Royale currently has half this count — 119,000 players at the time of writing.
“Blitz Royale is the s**t,” wrote one fan on reddit. “Seriously, Epic – love the mode, y’all cooked. I am seriously blown away and having so much fun.”
“The mode is surprising myself,” wrote another. “I’m playing far more aggressively than I would in normal mode and honestly it’s pretty cool.”
Epic Games will likely be watching Blitz Royale and other new additions carefully to see how well they perform over the coming days, and whether any of them are actually drawing in new players to Fortnite, as well as offering existing users new ways to play.
Fortnite’s average player numbers have generally fallen this year, according to publicly-available numbers from Fortnite.gg. Following growth and significant player spikes last year, particularly around September 2024’s Doctor Doom global boss battle, and November live events including a concert held in Times Square and an in-game extravaganza featuring Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Ice Spice and Juice Wrld.
2025 has seen Fortnite run a limited-time Star Wars mini-season that removed all regular ammo from the game, replacing the usual guns in Battle Royale mode with sci-fi energy weapons. The game’s recent season, which features a return to the game’s semi-regular focus on superheroes has seen numbers begin to bounce back. Next step, beating current Roblox hit Grow a Garden? One thing at a time, perhaps.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
