Fortnite creators have finally launched 'Playground Mode,' the game's first practice arena, after unexpected delays
- After some unexpected maintenance issues last week, "Fortnite: Battle Royale" creators Epic Games have finally launched "Playground Mode," the first practice area available in the game.
- Players can create elaborate structures, do some target practice, and goof off with friends in Playground Mode.
After some unexpected maintenance issues last week, "Fortnite: Battle Royale" players will now be able to create elaborate structures, do target practice, and goof off with friends in the game's first non-competitive mode.
"Playground" is a limited-time sandbox-style mode that allows players to take a break from the fast-paced battle royale formula by roaming through the island with up to three of their friends, without any opponents to shoot at or hide from.
The mode was initially launched last Wednesday morning with the game's regular weekly update, but was taken offline by developers at Epic Games shortly afterwards, along with all other Fortnite modes, when the influx of players caused a crash in the game's matchmaking software. While the usual servers were back up and running within a few hours, Playground Mode wasn't restored until Monday night.
Representatives from the company described the crash on Reddit saying, "So many of you rushed in to create and play that our matchmaking service fell over. We've since separated the Playground matchmaker from the one that affects the default modes and made large improvements to assist with the number of players."
The mode includes the island's normal amount of loot, plus ten times the normal gather rate for building materials and a hundred llamas scattered across the island, giving players the perfect environment to hone their combat and building skills without having to worry about scavenging for weapons and resources.
Friendly fire will be turned on, so squad members will be able to deal damage to one another, but never fear, players who are killed in Playground Mode will immediately respawn and parachute back onto the island.
After 55 minutes of free play, the storm will begin to close in on the island, eventually ending each round after a full hour has gone by. Deaths outside of the eye of the storm will not result in a respawn.
Here's the official trailer for Playground Mode: