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Fortnite OG Is Back for Good in December, With Original Maps, Loot and More

Get ready to game like it's 2017 -- and this time, the return is permanent.

Headshot of Gael Cooper
Headshot of Gael Cooper
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
2 min read
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The official Fortnite social-media accounts announced the return.

X/Screenshot by CNET

Fortnite players, get ready to party like it's 2017. On Tuesday, Epic Games announced that Fortnite OG is returning on Dec. 6, and this time, it's staying for good. Fortnite OG allows players to experience the game as it was when it was first released back in September 2017.

"Relive Battle Royale from the start and explore the OG map, collect OG loot, and relive OG seasons," the social-media message said. "Drop back in on December 6."

A representative for Epic Games didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: You Can Preorder the PS5 Pro and PlayStation 30th Anniversary Bundles Now

The throwback will be nostalgic for some players and brand-new to others.

"This map was around before half the player base was born," said one Instagram commenter.

Read more: I Was Wrong About Fortnite

Said another, "Kids aren't gonna know what to do, 'this isn't Fortnite.'"

Fortnite OG relaunched for a limited time in November 2023 and apparently did well. In December 2023, the Fortnite official social-media account tweeted that the return "exceeded our expectations ... so much so that we'd like to bring it back (in 2024)."

Exceeded its expectations and then some: The 2023 return led to Fortnite's biggest day ever, with over 44.7 million players.

The 2023 return of Fortnite OG lasted only a month, but this comeback is set to be permanent.

Fortnite isn't alone in its retro renaissance. Overwatch announced on Nov. 12 it would launch an Overwatch Classic mode, where gamers can play as one of the game's original 21 heroes. This won't last like the Fortnite OG launch, however. Overwatch Classic is a three-week-long event in Overwatch 2. 

Two other games, Call of Duty Warzone and Apex Legends, are also trying nostalgic games, thanks to the success of Fortnite OG's return.