“The Storm rages on. Will Midas’ Machine break the Storm?”
Support our independent tech coverage. Chrome Unboxed is written by real people, for real people—not search algorithms. Join Chrome Unboxed Plus for just $2 a month to get an ad-free experience, access to our private Discord, and more. Learn more about membership here.
START FREE TRIAL (MONTHLY)START FREE TRIAL (ANNUAL)
Fortnite is about to wrap up its second season and usher in its next in a big way. Each time a season wraps up, Fortnite ends up in the news and everyone knows about it. From the mysterious cube in the game world to the end of everything by way of a black hole, Epic Games’ storytelling chops in the Battle Royale space are unparalleled. They’re certainly no stranger to doing things big and making lots of noise. This time is no different as they’re holding an in-game event called The Doomsday Device and it’s threatening to reshape the entire map once more.
The Doomsday Device, even by its very name is going to be pretty significant. It’s a massive instrument being built and operated by Midas, the character who is the leader of a secret group of agents which can turn any item in the world into gold. The device itself has the ability to control the storm that closes in around players, raising the chances that they will encounter one another, making gameplay more dangerous as the round progresses. Normally, it closes in around the center of the map so that by the end, the last players standing are at the heart of the island. However, since the event was teased, the storm has started to shift to different places as seen in the image below.
As seen in the feature image of this article, Midas has what’s called the Cyclo Skin in a glass case which will likely be an Iron Man style suit of armor which will allow him to control the storm directly. Maybe he needs it to interface with the Doomsday Device.
The device is set to activate today, June 15, 2020 at 2pm EST. The tweet below shows that the present threat is that Midas can ‘break’ the storm. Does this mean that players will no longer have to worry about it closing in around them in Season 3? Will another threat take its place instead? The storm has been a defining feature of the Battle Royale genre since its inception. Games like Apex Legends, PUBG and more all have their own version of this mechanic.
Interestingly enough, the event was set to take place on several earlier dates, but was delayed for a number of reasons. Twice for the fact that Epic wanted to make sure they were ready to roll it out smoothly and once because they wanted to be respectful of the protests around police brutality and killing of George Floyd.
Recent events are a heavy reminder of ongoing injustices in society, from the denial of basic human rights to the impact of racism both overt and subtle against people of color. We’re acutely aware of the pain our friends, families, team members, players, and communities are experiencing.
We believe in equality and justice, diversity and inclusion, and that these fundamentals are above politics.
The team is eager to move Fortnite forward, but we need to balance the Season 3 launch with time for the team to focus on themselves, their families, and their communities.
The live event The Device will be delayed to Monday, June 15, and the Season 3 launch delayed to Wednesday, June 17. We know this delay comes on the heels of another one, and we appreciate your patience and understanding during these difficult times.
Anyone who wants to participate in the event live and see what happens should show up 30 minutes early so that they can get in the game and get settled in. The game’s Creative, Party Royale and Battle Lab modes have been temporarily disabled until after the event.
If you’re not going to hop in the game but still want to see what all the fuss is about, you can check out popular Fortnite streamer Ninja’s coverage of the event live right here:
