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Oliver Brandt is a Contributing Pop Culture Writer based in Tasmania, Australia. Their focus is reporting on video games, film, and TV. They have extensive knowledge of video game history and communities both in Australia and abroad, animated films and television shows, and international cinema. Oliver joined Newsweek in 2024 and has previously worked at Men’s Journal, Parade, and more. They are a graduate of Curtin University. You can get in touch with Oliver by emailing o.brandt@newsweek.com. You can find them on X and Bluesky @chocobalt. Languages: English.
Contributing Pop Culture Writer
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Fortnite has introduced a new incentive to its limited game mode is of great interest to time-starved gamers and those on the go.
Fortnite’s v36.20 update was released yesterday after some extended downtime, and brought with it a host of new changes and additions, skins, and more. To coincide with the new update, though, Epic Games has expanded on its Blitz Royale game mode, which is designed to be knocked out in just a few minutes.
Blitz Royale has players dropping into a significantly smaller map with just 32 players total — down from the 100 players in a typical Fortnite Battle Royale match. Every player is equipped with a Medallion, which offers a buff to players but also broadcasts their rough location on the minimap, letting players find each other much more quickly.
While a typical Fortnite Battle Royale match lasts around 15-20 minutes – or longer for particularly skilled players – while Blitz Royale is designed to wrap up in as little as five minutes.
It’s a great idea, letting players knock out a few quick matches on their lunch break, and it gets updated every week with changes and updates to keep the mode feeling fresh before it disappears.
To celebrate the success of the game mode, players who log in to Fortnite right now will get a free celebratory cosmetic item, a Blitz Pickaxe item, which will appear in their inventory upon logging in. The free item is available between now and July 29, and is available for all players on every platform.
Check out what’s coming every week in Blitz Royale, next up: Boon Bonanza!
Plus, log in July 15 – 29 and you’ll be granted the Blitz Axe to complete your golden drip 😎 pic.twitter.com/wMSPx95c6c
— Fortnite (@Fortnite) July 14, 2025
Further updates to Blitz Royale in the next few weeks are also planned, with an “Envision the Void” update coming next week, a “Mega City Reborn” update coming the week after, and “Blitz Boss Rises” coming the week after that, on August 5. It’s not known exactly what these updates will include, but it’s bound to be exciting for fans of the speedy game mode.
