Fortnite downtime continues as Epic Games confirms reason for surprise maintenance extension

Fortnite continues to experience downtime following an unexpected extension to its maintenance period, and Epic Games has now issued a fresh statement explaining why the game remains offline.

The Super season of Fortnite has largely proceeded without significant glitches, with Epic Games' summer break providing their developers a well-earned rest, whilst ensuring no lapse in content. The introduction of the immensely popular Blitz Royale mode and the Squid Grounds Reload takeover have kept players thoroughly engaged. It's been a substantial season, with players relishing the opportunity to dive in.

However, things are currently going awry as the 36.20 update downtime has commenced and failed to meet its estimated two-to-three-hour completion time, leaving the game silent and players unable to access it. This has resulted in a frustrating morning for potential players, but Epic Games appears to have an explanation, having released a new statement.

Here's what you need to know about the ongoing Fortnite downtime.

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Epic Games addresses prolonged downtime

In response to the unexpectedly lengthy downtime experienced by the game, Epic Games has issued an official statement. After more than six hours of downtime, the company has disclosed that it deliberately extended its server shutdown to address internal issues.

"Hey everyone, we're extending downtime while we work to resolve an issue discovered during offline checks," the company announced

Hey everyone, we're extending downtime while we work to resolve an issue discovered during offline checks.

We'll do our best to get Fortnite servers online ASAP. Keep an eye on this thread for any future updates. pic.twitter.com/b8ZPOYvb0K

— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) July 15, 2025

. "We'll do our best to get Fortnite servers online ASAP. Keep an eye on this thread for any future updates."

The current Fortnite downtime, as initially reported and analysed, has thrown up some curious data from game statistic site Osirion, which notes that the game's version number actually decreased with the latest update – a rare occurrence that previously led to significantly prolonged downtime.

Unearthing issues during offline checks is hardly encouraging, suggesting problems with Fortnite's content rather than its internet connectivity. Nonetheless, Epic Games has been transparent about the situation. Fingers crossed that players will be diving back into the action soon.