Epic has announced that the original Fortnite game mode, “Save the World,” will be getting its free-to-play debut on April 16th, 2026. Available for PC and consoles, this side mode was intended to be the main course for Fortnite almost a decade ago. Epic Games had embarked on a long development journey to produce a “Games as a Service” title that would be the defacto example of that for the industry. When things weren’t panning out, Epic pulled a Hail Mary by changing to battle royale and the rest is history.

Now, you won’t need to buy into “Save the World” as Epic is dropping the monetary requirement. It’s also bringing the mode to Nintendo Switch 2, though curiously not the original Switch. I’m guessing not enough people were playing Fortnite on Switch to justify porting this mode over. Save the World was available everywhere else since it was the original experience anyway. I suppose PlayStation 4 players who have held onto their discs for eight years may finally feel a tinge of regret.

If you want to earn some in-game rewards before Save the World releases, you can pre-register on the Fortnite website today. There are three milestones available that will unlock some kind of cosmetic for use when the mode made free-to-play. You don’t have to worry about missing out on any specific milestone as registering before April 16th ensures you get all three.