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Fortnite’snext major update will see the dawn of a new season with Chapter 5 Season 3. This update is just around the corner, and fans are wondering when they will be able to jump into the new content. From new vehicles to villains, the post-apocalyptic-themed season, which marksFortnite’sfirst collaboration withFallout, is shaping out to be an eventful one.
So far, leaks have given fans some exciting stuff to look forward to, ranging from anew shark ship POIto some interesting upcoming collaborations. As fans await the release of the new update, here is all they need to know about the start of Chapter 5 Season 3.
When Does Chapter 5 Season 3 Start?
FortniteChapter 5 Season 3 begins on May 30, 2025.
Once downtime starts, players can expect the game to be inaccessible for anywhere between 8 to 10 hours. While that might sound like a lot, this is usually the regularduration of downtime taken by majorFortniteupdates. In fact, there have been instances where the update hasn’t gone as planned, and the downtime has been extended to as much as 15 to 16 hours.
Despite the standard time being merely 8 to 10 hours, sometimes the servers aren’t stable for hours even after the update gets released. That being said, players can expect that the game will beavailable to play around 10 AM Eastern Timeif the servers work as planned.
When Is Matchmaking Disabled?
This is the first stage of things gearing up for the update. Usually, the matchmaking is disabled right before the update drops, which isslated to be around 1:30 AM Eastern Time on June 16, 2025.Once matchmaking is disabled players will not be able to take part in online play, so this is essentially the time after whichFortnitefans won’t be able to join games at all. If players are trying to grind theBattle Passor experience theChapter 5 Season 2 mapone last time, they should ensure that it’s wrapped up before this.
When Does Downtime Start?
About 30 minutes after matchmaking gets disabled, downtime should ideally start. This should likely bearound 2 AM Eastern Time on Jul 28, 2025.After this point,Fortniteservers will be shut down totally, so things start to get wonky in the game, and it will be pretty much inaccessible throughout. This is also when the current Battle Pass ends, and going by past updates, the start of the downtime usually coincides with it.
