Fortnite announces new FPS game mode Fortnite Ballistic

In a surprising announcement, Epic Games has teased a new mode for its popular battle royale game Fortnite, called Fortnite Ballistic, a five-versus-five first-person tactical shooter.

Called a ‘first-person Fornite experience’, the game mode will launch in early access on December 11th and features similar mechanics that fans of other titles such as VALORANT and Counter-Strike will be familiar with.

Epic Games shared many details about Fortnite Ballistic through its official website, however, many questions are still left unanswered ahead of the early access stage. Epic has announced Fortnite Ballistic as a ‘game mode’ instead of a full release, which means that outfits, wraps, sprays and emotes unlocked in Fortnite Battle Royale will be supported. However, pickaxes, instruments, vehicles, jam tracks and contrails will not be in the mode.

Epic Games has announced that Ballistic is a round-based competitive mode, moreover, the game’s early access will include one map, a set of weapons and several items to be used by the players. In addition to weapons ranging from assault rifles and snipers to shotguns, players will also use ‘gadgets’ which offer specific benefits. These include a shield, a frag grenade and a proximity mine, among others.

From the materials shared by the developers, the game seems to be heavily inspired by the FSP genre, with an approach that takes some inspiration from various games. While VALORANT has character-specific abilities and Counter-Strike relies on realism, Ballistic seems to be aiming at the middle ground by offering gadgets but not spells or abilities.

At launch, there will be a ranked and unranked mode, with players getting a rank boost after every victory.

Epic added in a release: “The exact amount each player gains or loses is influenced by the following (in order from most to least impactful): their current rank, rounds won, rounds lost, eliminations, and assists. AFK or leaving players will have an additional rank loss. “

It should be noted that Fortnite initially launched as a survival co-op shooter and added its more popular Battle Royale mode later on. The original mode is now called Fortnite: Save the World.