After what seemed like forever and a day, Epic Games finally pulled the PvE portion of Fortnite out of Early Access. But don’t get your hopes up for more free gaming: Save the World will still remain as a "premium" product.
For Fortnite players who never gave Save the World a second glance, it’s a co-op multiplayer campaign based on tower defense. Players must defend their base against zombie mobs that attack in waves. Survival includes gathering resources, crafting weapons, building defenses, and more. There’s also an overall story that sees players complete quests.
Save the World launched as a paid Early Access game in 2017 while the Battle Royale component remained free, attracting 78 million monthly players. However, now three years after its debut, Epic says the development of new content for Save the World will slow down.
"Since the launch of Save the World’s Early Access period, we've added a vast collection of unique Heroes and Schematics, an overhaul of the Front End and Hero Loadouts, a weapon recombobulation system, a climactic narrative experience, and more that has shaped Save the World into a massive-collection-RPG experience," the company says.
However, due to the developmental slowdown, Save the World won’t support all upcoming cosmetics purchased through the Battle Royale portion, though all existing cosmetics will continue to work in both.
But this isn’t the end of the world for Save the World. Epic is implementing Ventures, which are "seasonal excursions" providing new and unique modifiers. With each completed challenge brings seasonal experience that can ultimately unlock Supercharger materials. These materials raise the levels of items in your collection beyond their level cap.
Ventures also introduce an annual recurring seasonal schedule, according to Epic. This will be separate from the Battle Royale portion and see a rotation of Fortnite’s Heroes, Schematics, and Questlines each season. Epic will add new Heroes and quests, but at a slower pace.