When will Fortnite Season 3 launch? Why Epic Games have delayed the update - and new release date

The latest 'season' of the popular battle royale game Fortnite had been delayed until early June, much to the dismay of the game's rabid fanbase of followers.

New seasons of the game often bring with the big new content drops, and thematic changes to Fortnite that helps to keep it fresh some three years on from its original release.

But fans will be left waiting much longer than anticipated to see what new loot Season 3 brings to the game.

The game's current season - Season 2 of Fortnite's so-called 'Chapter 2' - was expected to come to a close on 30 April, on which date Season 3 would also be ushered in.

However, developers Epic Games have confirmed that the ongoing season will be extended by a number of weeks.

Season 3 is now slated to begin at the later date of Thursday 17 June.

However, recently a countdown timer appeared in the game, and is set to hit zero on Monday 15 June. Could something be happening to kick Season 3 off slightly earlier?

Here's what it all means:

What does the countdown mean?

A countdown clock was recently added to the game, tucked away in Midas’ office in the menu in the form of a Doomsday Device.

It seems like it’s going to be set off at The Agency, and while fans don't know exactly what it does, it is likely going to reshape the Chapter 2 map, and there are plenty of theories about.

How will the map change?

Whatever is happening, it all seems to be a part of Midas' Masterplan, a dastardly scheme to reshape the Fortnite world in some manner.

It's not been confirmed just what changes - if any - will be coming to Fortnite's map, but hints seen in teasers for the next season suggest that it was water-themed, and that sea levels may be rising to cover certain areas in H2O.

We've seen floating houses, sharks and other watery suggestions so far, and low-lying areas of the map are likely to be consumed by the sea.

Whether they will go completely, or will transform to become watery versions of themselves remains to be seen, but areas like low lying islands The Shark, areas around rivers and even The Agency itself could become rather damp in the coming weeks.