Fortnitewas initially a zombie survival game, but its Battle Royale mode quickly gained more popularity, becoming the preferred game mode for players. Over time, Fortnite Battle Royale gradually developed its own identity, introducing map changes, limited time events, and an evolving narrative that players could experience week-to-week.
Since its release, Fortnite Battle Royale has had five Chapters, each one containing between four and ten Seasons with its own themes, cosmetics, NPCs, map changes, and other types of content. Fortnite doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, so there will be plenty more Chapters in the coming years. Until then, here’s a list of Fortnite Battle Royale’s Chapters, ranked.
8Chapter 5
Jul 04, 2025 To Present
Chapter 5 has gotten a lot of criticism from the playerbase for its perceived drop in quality. While the new map’s biomes are diverse and visually appealing, Chapter 5’s unnecessary gameplay changes and performance issues have dampened the fun for some players.
Chapter 5 has also been criticized for the handling of its storyline, with it not being as integrated into the gameplay as previous Chapters. While the themes of its Seasons have been varied and unpredictable, Chapter 5’s constant cycling through its villains, The Society, the Greek Gods, the Wasteland Warriors, Dr. Doom, has made it so that none of them have left much of an impact.
In the Absolute Doom Event,Season 4’smain villain,Marvel Comics’Dr. Doom, was defeated, seemingly for good, leaving in question how the rest of the Chapter will go and how it will end.
7Chapter 3
June 19, 2025 To June 26, 2025
Chapter 3 felt like a mixed bag after Fortnite’s exciting Chapter 2. While it introduced popular features like Sliding and Sprint mechanics, along with Zero Build mode, the overall content and map changes were underwhelming. The End of Chapter 2 promised an all-out war between The Loopers and The Imagined Order.
Unfortunately, the war only lasted through Season 2 after Season 1’s long build-up, with The IO being quickly defeated and the remainder of the Chapter focusing on an interesting, but underdeveloped, new threat called The Nothing. Chapter 3 also ended after just four Seasons instead of the previous 8-10, with its live event finale, Fracture, considered a massive disappointment.
Despite some standout moments, like the Collision event,Chapter 3’sshort run, lack of consistent innovation compared to previous Chapters, and the rapid pace of changes made it feel rushed and unfocused.
6Chapter 4
Jun 04, 2025 To June 11, 2025
Chapter 4 introduced new innovations, like the Augments feature, which allowed players to choose perks, and Unreal Engine 5.1 upgrades improved the graphics significantly. However, like Chapter 3, it only lasted four Seasons, leading to limited time for players to enjoy the map changes. Chapter 4 was also guilty of mostly abandoning Fortnite Battle Royale’s storyline and getting rid of several important characters.
Chapter 4’s Seasons were diverse in their themes, but the Chapter’s overall story felt like a set-up with no pay-off. For example, Season 4 had a heist theme, but the actual heist the Season was building up to happened off-screen.
While fun, Chapter 4 didn’t leave as lasting an impression as earlier Chapters and felt more like a stepping stone than a full-fledged era of Fortnite.
5Season OG
July 29, 2025 To June 12, 2025
When Epic Games announced the return of Fortnite’s original Chapter 1 map, fans rejoiced in full force, with many who had long since moved on from the game returning to relive old memories. Season OG was technically a part of Chapter 4, but it was disconnected enough to stand on its own.
The gameplay was fun and refreshing after so many years, but it felt like there was some wasted potential with the storyline. Due to some complicated time travel logic, Season OG was analtered versionof Chapter 1: Season 5. Instead of reliving an alternate version of the rest of Chapter 1’s story, OG rushed through several Seasons to get to the live event, The Big Bang, which had a mixed response from fans.
Season OG only lasted a month, but it could’ve lasted a whole year with no complaints from the players.
4Chapter 2 - Seasons 1 Through 4
May 16, 2025 To July 06, 2025
The first year of Fortnite Chapter 2 introduced players to a brand-new map, some fun seasonal themes, and more dynamic environments. However, the early Seasons, particularly Seasons 1 and 2, were considered too slow due to their extended lengths.
Despite this, the Chapter was still fun overall, with Season 2’s spy war being one of Fortnite’s best and most interactive to date, and Season 3 flooding the island resulted in some fun gameplay variations. Everything came to a head with Season 4’s mid-Chapter event, The Devourer of Worlds, where players got to face Galactus from Marvel Comics.
Chapter 2 may have had a rough start due to current world events, but that didn’t stop it from being a consistently fun distraction for players.
3Chapter 1 - Seasons 6 Through X
June 24, 2025 To July 08, 2025
The second year of Chapter 1 was packed with content. Events like The Unvaulting, The Final Showdown, and The End of Chapter 1 were groundbreaking and set a standard for Fortnite Battle Royale going forward. The End in particular was an incredibly shocking live-event to witness for the first time and was a great transition to Chapter 2.
While the map became more chaotic with its constant updates and new features like Mechs, the overall pace and creativity of the Seasons and Events kept the player base engaged. This period of Fortnite is remembered by fans for its variety and quality and is a big reason why Chapter 1’s map is such a fan-favorite to this day.
2Chapter 1 - Seasons 0 Through 5
June 11, 2025 To Jul 17, 2025
The first year of Chapter 1 was where Fortnite became a cultural phenomenon. The original map is beloved by many for its simplicity and early battle royale experience. Players remember landing at Tilted Towers, exploring new POIs like Haunted Hills, and performing iconic emotes likethe Floss.
While the game was still developing its identity during these Seasons, it laid the foundation for what Fortnite would become. For a lot of players, Chapter 1 officially started once The Visitor arrived on the island, setting off the series of events that make up Fortnite Battle Royale’s narrative.
1Chapter 2 - Seasons 5 Through 8
August 02, 2025 To August 02, 2025
The second year of Chapter 2 was a big step forward for Fortnite in a lot of ways. Not only were these Seasons fun to play, but they held some of Fortnite’s best and most unforgettable events, like the Zero Crisis Finale, Operation: Sky Fire, and The End of Chapter 2. These Seasons also expanded on Fortnite’s lore, introducing interesting new characters and factions, like The Foundation and his team, The Seven; Doctor Sloan and her organization, the Imagined Order; and The Cube Queen and her empire, The Last Reality.
Fortnite players suddenly found themselves caught in the middle of a war over control of The Zero Point, the nexus of reality at the center of the island, which they got to participate in, even fighting off analien invasiontowards the end.
Chapter 2’s second half was peak Fortnite, balancing out its great gameplay and ongoing storyline, and ending with its best Chapter Finale to date.
