Epic Games is working to restore access to its gaming platform and multiple titles following a widespread server outage that began Saturday morning. The disruption started after Fortnite's servers went offline at 11:30 AM ET for scheduled maintenance following the "Welcome, Our Alien Overlords" live event, ahead of the highly anticipated Fortnite x The Simpsons crossover miniseries launch, according to Times Now News and other gaming outlets.
According to outage tracker Downdetector, more than 4,000 users reported issues with the Epic Games Store (EGS).
At 7:31 PM ET on Saturday, Epic Games acknowledged on X that it was "still working on restoring access" to its services.
Newsweek reached out to Epic Games via email on Saturday for additional comment.
The outage extends beyond Fortnite, affecting Epic's entire gaming ecosystem including the EGS, Fall Guys, and Rocket League. This marks a significant disruption for millions of players worldwide who were anticipating the launch of Fortnite's highly promoted Simpsons collaboration. The Springfield Season Pass represents the concluding chapter of Fortnite Season 6, Comicbook.com reported.
The widespread nature of the outage raises questions about Epic Games' infrastructure capacity during major content launches.
The five-hour maintenance window, initially scheduled to conclude at 4 PM ET, has extended well beyond projections with no confirmed restoration timeline.
According to the Epic Games public status webpage, which currently lists a "partial service outage," players are experiencing problems with game services, login capabilities, parties, friends lists, and messaging systems. Some players who successfully loaded into Fortnite matches reported appearing without their equipped outfits or loadouts, Comicbook.com reported.
The scheduled downtime was intended to introduce Version 38.00, which brings The Simpsons-themed Springfield expansion to Fortnite. The update introduces new character outfits and "Sidekicks," a cosmetic feature giving players small animal companions. However, while console versions of Fortnite appear to be updating with the new content, PC players have reported difficulty accessing the Epic Launcher entirely.
Fall Guys and Rocket League are experiencing partial outages affecting login, parties, friends, and messaging functions. The Epic Games Store is also dealing with persistent login issues.
Many players expressed frustration on social media and forums like Reddit as the outage extended throughout Saturday.
Epic Games Store on X: "Update: We are still working on restoring access to EGS, along with several games including Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we'll keep you updated here and on http://status.epicgames.com once logins are up and running."
Epic Games continues to investigate the root cause of the outage and is working to restore full functionality across its platform.
The company has committed to providing updates through its official X account and the Epic Games status webpage at status.epicgames.com.