Fortnite fans have been sent into a frenzy after the creators of the game released the first poster for its upcoming fifth season.
New seasons typically expand or alter the playable area within the blockbuster video game title, which is set on a dystopian island.
Developer Epic Games also introduces new missions, characters, abilities and unlockable items with each new season – which players access by buying a Battle Pass with in-game credits, known as V-Bucks, which are purchased with real money.
The fifth season of Fortnite is due to be rolled out on Thursday.
Epic Games has hinted at the changes players can expect to the game later this week, tweeting an image of a cartoon cat with cracks bursting from its left eye with the caption: ‘Three days until Season 5…’
Speculation from Fortnite players has oscillated around two main fan theories around what the feline figure could represent — with some claiming the image is Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess of warfare, and others believe it is Kitsune, a Japanese fox with magical powers.
Fortnite fans were sent into a frenzy yesterday when the game released the first glimpse of the upcoming season five. The image of a cartoon cat with bright cracks through its face (pictured) was tweeted out and accompanied with a caption, reading: ‘3 days until Season 5…’.
Gamers have been reporting bouts of unusual activity in the popular survival shooter, as it edges closer to the release date of the latest season.
Those playing the game have spotted objects being sucked into portals, while others have reported seeing cracks appear in the sky.
The latter are purportedly the same as the cracks features in the season five teaser image, leading many to believe they are linked.
One of the video game’s disappearing objects even reappeared in the real-world, with a ‘Durr burger’ spotted in the Californian desert.
A confused photographer captured an image of the misplaced burger and there’s now an ‘agent’ in place at the area handing out business cards, with nothing but an Iowa phone number on it.
The game has continued to leak into the real-world, with supply llamas from the game cropping up in numerous European cities.
One was spotted in Covent Garden, in central London yesterday, poking out of a red telephone box.
Llamas have also been spotted in Warsaw, Cologne, Barcelona, Cannes and Paris.
In the run up to season four earlier this year, Epic Games drip-fed customers updates about the upcoming release with a new picture every day of the week ahead of the release date.
These included images of skins that would be included in the Battle Passes.
If the firm’s track record is anything to go on, this could be the first of a few teasers from Fortnite ahead of season five’s launch on at 9am BST (4am ET) on Thursday.
The game has continued to leak into the real-world, with supply llamas from the game cropping up in numerous European cities. One was spotted in Covent Garden, London yesterday, inside a red telephone box (pictured)
Cracks in Fortnite’s sky were created by a mysterious rocket launch and objects have been sucked into portals as season four draws to a close. One of the game’s objects even appeared in the real-world, as a ‘Durr burger’ found its way to the Californian desert (pictured)
There is now an ‘agent’ in place at the area surrounding the ‘Durr Burger’ handing out business cards, with nothing but an Iowa phone number on it
Fortnite fans flooded social news site Reddit to discuss the meaning behind the teaser image.
Here, the most popular ideas were that the cat represented either an Egyptian goddess or Japanese cultural icon.
One Redditor wrote: ‘Egyptian? Looks like Bastet, cat goddess in ancient Egypt.’
Another said: ‘It looks like more like a Kitsune Mask to me.’
The true meaning of the figure depicted in the teaser is likely to be revealed when the fifth season launches in-game later this week.
If it is Bastet, it would likely confirm rumours that the game is due to employ an Ancient China inspired map.
Speculation has also suggested that a Wild West setting could be introduced, with different locations within the game based on different eras.
WHAT IS FORTNITE?
Fortnite is a game that originally launched as a disk back in July 2017 and was then turned into a free-to-download game by its developer, Epic Games, in September.
There are three forms of the game: ‘Battle Royale’, ‘Save The World’ and ‘Playground’.
Save the world is the original form of the game and is currently not available to play as part of the free-to-download game, instead it comes as part of a £30 ($40) extra.
It is a co-op mode with a story that’s playable solo or online with friends.
Fortnite is a battle royale-style survival shooter where players create a superhero avatar and compete against each other on a dystopian island
Users compete in teams of up to three to complete a variety of missions.
It is rumoured that the game will be added to the free-to-play version of the game in the future.
Whilst Save The World may be the original version of the game, its sister mode is by far the most popular.
Battle Royale is a game of survival where players create a superhero avatar and compete against each other on a dystopian island.
Each game, or ‘match’ as each competition is known, starts with 100 players.
The aim of the game is to be the last one standing. Users can form allegiances and play in small groups.
To enable this and the interactive experience, the game allows completely open communication between players.
Inspired by the Hunger Games novels and films, gamers search for weapons to help them survive.
Armed with quirky weapons and amusing dances, the game has swept across the gaming world, with children flocking to it.
While there is no exact figure on how many children play Fortnite, the game has so far pulled in an audience of over 125 million players.
Playground is the latest addition to the game and is a consequence free mode with more loot and unlimited respawning to allow players to get creative.
It involved groups of up to four people working as a team and the players can hone their skills as the practise in advance of entering Battle Royale where they will face better players.