A new season sets sail

Fortnite's live season in mid-2026 is Chapter 7 Season 3, titled Runners, which launched Saturday, June 6, 2026, following the Shattered live event the day before. The season carries the tagline that power is not given, it is taken, and leans into a tropical-island aesthetic wrapped around a playful duck-themed storyline.

Runners headlines its Battle Pass with a marquee collaboration that fans immediately latched onto, and it brings back a fan-favorite mechanic to shake up moment-to-moment play.

The Battle Pass and gameplay

The season's content leads with recognizable faces and fresh tools:

The Battle Pass costs 800 V-Bucks, or comes with Fortnite Crew, and includes eight skins.
Headliners include a John Wick Pen and Ink edition with an illustrated dog sidekick, plus Doctor Slone, Armored Cerberus, Ninja Hope, a remixed PJ, and streamer collab TheBurntPeanut.
Sprites return, small creatures that attach to your back and buff weapons and movement.
New weapons include the Chaos Reloader Assault Rifle, a Triple Barrel Shotgun, and the Seven Power Boots mobility item.

Leakers point to a volcano reshaping the map alongside new tropical points of interest, though those map changes remain unconfirmed rumors rather than official details.

Why it works

The John Wick tie-in is the kind of high-profile crossover Fortnite has built its identity on, and the illustrated Pen and Ink styling gives it a distinctive look rather than a straight in-game recreation. Pairing a beloved action-movie icon with a dog sidekick is exactly the sort of detail that drives Battle Pass purchases.

The return of Sprites matters just as much for gameplay. By letting players attach a creature that boosts weapon damage or movement, the mechanic adds a layer of build-craft to each match, rewarding players who experiment with different Sprite loadouts. Combined with new mobility in the Seven Power Boots, the season emphasizes speed and aggression, fitting the Runners theme.

As always with Fortnite, live-service details shift quickly, and the season's rumored collaborations and end date were still unsettled. But out of the gate, Runners delivers the blend of a headline crossover, a returning mechanic, and a reshaped map that keeps Fortnite's enormous audience engaged. For a game constantly reinventing itself, Chapter 7 Season 3 hits the familiar marks that have kept it on top for years.