Fortnite's Battle Royale mode will revert to 100-player matches on a larger map when Chapter 7 launches on November 29, 2025. The change follows an experimental mini-season with The Simpsons that featured a smaller map and fewer players. Epic Games described the smaller setup as a test for faster-paced gameplay.
Background on the Experiment
Fortnite's current Simpsons-themed mini-season, which began in early November 2025, introduced significant changes to the Battle Royale mode. The Springfield island map covers about half the land area of the previous Chapter 6 island, leading to denser player encounters. Matches temporarily supported only 80 players instead of the standard 100, resulting in quicker rotations, more frequent fights, and less time traversing empty areas.
Epic Games shared details in a blog post via the Fortnite Status Twitter account, framing the adjustments as an intentional experiment. "Here's something different: this season’s BR is 80 players instead of 100 on the more compact map. The vibe so far? Faster rotations, more meaningful fights, and less time running across empty fields. This is an experiment--we plan to return to 100 players next season--but we wanted to see what happens when we concentrate the action," the post stated.
Chapter 7 Details and Additional Updates
The Simpsons mini-season concludes on November 29, 2025, paving the way for Chapter 7 and a return to the traditional Battle Royale experience with 100 players on a roomier island. In the meantime, Epic is adding Simpsons-themed weapons—the Deodorant Applicator and Bart's Slingshot—to the loot pool for November 8 and 9, 2025, only. These items previously appeared in the Delulu mode last weekend.
This shift highlights Epic's ongoing efforts to vary gameplay rhythms in Fortnite, balancing experimentation with fan-favorite formats.