Fortnite 15.40 COUNTDOWN: Everything you need to know

Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 5 is one month from ending, bringing us closer to the start of Season 6.

But, there's still time for a couple of more updates before then.

Here is everything you need to know about the 15.40 update.

LATEST - Exotics, Air Royale, and More

Fortnite 15.40 is just about here and Epic Games have shared an exciting look at what to expect in the update!

Two brand-new LTMs are "coming soon", Characters are going to have more Exotics in stock, and there are more building options being added to the PC Perf Mode Alpha.

However, the big announcement that has had everyone talking is the "unvaulted favourite".

People have been speculating that it could be the Pump Shotgun, but that would almost be too good to be true... Right?

Release Date

New updates are usually released every two weeks.

Update day is usually between Tuesday and Thursday, more often than not it is on Tuesday nowadays.

The 15.30 update was released on February 2nd, meaning we can expect to see the 15.40 update on February 16th-18th.

Patch Notes

Back in the good old days, Epic Games used to release full patch notes for every update, detailing every little change in the game.

Now, it appears that it is too much work for a multi-billion dollar company.

So instead, they release updates and let the community work them out for free, although I guess that's one way to save money.

The night before a new update supported creators do get a brief set of patch notes with hints at what to expect, but it is still up to the community to figure out exactly what has been changed or added.

Leaked Skins

With each new update comes new skins that will be released in the Item Shop over the coming weeks.

Usually, some of these end up not being released and hang around the in-game files for a while.

Recently, most of what has been leaked has ended up on sale within that update period.

We can expect to see more skins when the new update is released later this week.

Leaked Weapons

Throughout Chapter 2 Season 5 we have seen a variety of new Exotic weapons come to the game.

These are older weapons, such as Dual Pistols or Heavy Sniper Rifle, but with a fun twist.

The Dual Pistols add the Hop Rock effect, the Heavy Sniper fires explosives, as well as many other effects added to these Exotics.

There are still a handful of Exotic weapons that have been leaked but not added.

These include a Burst Assault Rife that adds ice blocks to the users' feet.

A minigun that fires explosives, an electric gun, and a pistol that fires gnomes.

It is unclear whether any of these are still coming to game or whether they've been scrapped.

Map Changes

Each season we see huge map changes, Season 4 brought us Marvel-themed POIs, and Season 5 brought us a large sand area in the centre of the map as well as the return of some Chapter 1 POIs.

Since the start of the season, we have only seen minor changes to the map, so it is possible we will some more small changes before the end of Season 5, but any large changes will likely be held back until the start of Season 6.

Hearts Wild

Hearts Wild is Fortnite's Valentine's Day event for 2021.

This event has brought Cupid's Crossbow back to the game, as well as some love themed challenges.

The Hearts Wild event is expected to end on

February 18th, so if you want to use the Crossbow then you've still got a few more days.

Week 12 Challenges

Every Thursday we see new challenges added to the game, giving players the opportunity to earn XP to complete the Battle Pass.

These usually get leaked with the updates, but week 12 hasn't been leaked yet.

The week 12 challenges should be added in the 15.40 update, ready to go live on Thursday, so check back for the challenges later and check out our challenge hub here.

FNCS

Season 5's FNCS tournament is in full swing now, with week 1 taking place this weekend.

Each Friday-Sunday, the top teams in the world will compete to earn their place in the Grand Finals on March 12th-14th.

Tournaments

Even though the FNCS tournament is underway, there are still plenty of tournaments for the rest of us to take part in.

Every Monday sees the Hype Cup, which grants players Hype, or Arena, points, as well as a Trios Cash Cup.

Friday sees the Friday Nite Bragging Rights tournament, with the winners receiving social media promotion from Epic Games.

Saturday hosts a Solo Cash Cup, and Sunday sees an LTM Tournament take place with this week being a Floor Is Lava tournament.

There will be a special SpyherPK Cup that will take place between February 17th-19th depending on the region.

The SypherPK Cup will take place over two rounds with the winners winning $2,000.