Major Fortnite Shutdown Happening In 48 Hours

Published Sep 29, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT

Sharmila is an engineer-turned-gaming hardware journalist and freelance contributor at ScreenRant who has been covering the gaming and tech industry since 2021. While she first built her expertise writing about video games, she has since pivoted towards gaming hardware, with a focus on PC components, peripherals, handhelds, and performance-driven tech. When she’s not testing gear or writing about the latest hardware trends, she can usually be found diving into competitive shooters or keeping up with the evolving esports scene.

Fortnite players have just a couple of days left before one of the game’s newer modes disappears for good. If you’ve still got a Rocket Racing car sitting in your locker, now is the time to take it out for one last lap.

Epic Games will remove Rocket Racing from Fortnite on October 1, giving players roughly 48 hours to jump back into the mode before it goes offline. The shutdown also applies to Rocket Racing content made through Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), so this is more than simply removing a playlist.

Rocket Racing Is About to Disappear From Fortnite

Rocket Racing launched in December 2023 as part of Fortnite’s expansion beyond Battle Royale. Developed by Psyonix, the studio behind Rocket League, it brought fast-paced vehicle racing into Fortnite, complete with drifting, boosts, jumps, and ranked competition. Nearly three years later, Epic is pulling the plug on the experience, and it’s honestly sad for fans who could get their daily dose of Rocket League-like fun without having to download an extra game.

After October 1, any UEFN islands created using Rocket Racing templates will be unpublished and become unplayable. Creators also won’t be able to publish updates to existing islands. Epic has, however, moved several of the mode’s racing tools into the broader UEFN toolkit, including track-building and racing devices. That means some of the technology behind Rocket Racing will live on, even though the dedicated mode won’t.

There is some good news for anyone who spent money on Rocket Racing: your car cosmetics aren’t being deleted. Epic says players will still be able to use their customized vehicles in Fortnite after the mode is removed, so purchases made for Rocket Racing won’t simply vanish.

Epic’s Layoffs Put Fortnite’s Mode Shutdowns Into Context

Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

For context, the decision came after Epic’s March layoffs that affected more than 1,000 employees, with the company citing a decline in engagement and the need to reduce spending. At the same time, Epic announced that Rocket Racing, Ballistic, and Fortnite Festival’s Battle Stage would all be retired. The company said these modes had failed to attract and retain a large enough player base, leading to the decision to shut them down.

That puts Rocket Racing’s shutdown in a wider context. It wasn’t announced as an isolated decision months after the layoffs; the two announcements came together as part of Epic’s effort to cut costs and focus its resources on the parts of Fortnite that are performing better. Ballistic and Festival Battle Stage were removed in April, while Rocket Racing was given until October.

For players, there isn’t much left to wait for. Rocket Racing Quests have already been removed, and Epic has confirmed that no new Ranked Rewards or future content are planned for the mode.

Rocket Racing may not have lasted as long as Epic hoped, but its retirement doesn’t mean everything it introduced is disappearing. Its cars will remain usable, and some of its racing tools are being folded into UEFN for creators. Still, if you kept telling yourself you’d give Rocket Racing another shot in Fortnite someday, you’re almost out of time.

Systems

Fortnite sees players enter constantly evolving islands in its different modes; compete to be the last one standing in Battle Royale, fight without building in Zero Build, or jump into thousands of creator-made experiences. Fortnite's setup supports racing, music performances, social spaces, and custom games built with Creative and Unreal Editor.