We always knew that the next season of Fortnite battle royale would likely be coming in early December, and just in time for the holidays. However, we expected that to simply be the time for the ninth season of Chapter 2 to begin, not the Fortnite The End Chapter 2 Finale. 

Epic Games has announced the Fortnite The End Chapter 2 Finale event and it is going to be a major event that will feature the very end of the current season and chapter. Rather than jump into Season 9 in early December, we are actually jumping into Season 1 once again. 

It looks like Chapter 3 is on the horizon and not actually a couple of seasons away as we expected. When it came to the first chapter of Fortnite, there were 10 seasons in total before the end of it. We expected a similar situation with Chapter 2, but it looks like that is not going to be the case after all. 

The Fortnite The End Chapter 2 Finale will mark the end of the current Season 8 of battle royale and the second chapter as we know it. As for what that means for what’s coming next, there are a number of factors that we could assume about it in terms of the main content. 

For one, the start of Chapter 3 means that we are going to say goodbye to the current island and most, if not all, of the major named locations on it. Instead, there will be a third island most likely that will feature mostly new locations and perhaps a few familiar faces or two. 

Not much is known about the new map at this time, but we also know that it means that there will be a new season of battle royale, too. With Chapter 2, Epic Games made a lot of permanent changes to the formula that was not in the first chapter and we presume that this will happen again in Chapter 3. 

But before we can reach Chapter 3 of Fortnite battle royale, there is the final event to look forward to with the Fortnite The End Chapter 2 Finale. This limited-time event is yet another live one, requiring players to be there virtually in person in order to partake in the festivities. 

The problem with the Fortnite The End Chapter 2 Finale is that it will only happen once and that is it. This is not an event that can be replayed or played after the fact. You have to be there at that specific time to see it happen, just like the Ariana Grande concert and Cube events before it. 

The date and time for the Fortnite The End Chapter 2 Finale is going to be Saturday, December 4, at around 1 p.m. PT. It is, thankfully, happening on the weekend and at a time that is decently good for much of the world, including Europe and the Western Hemisphere, but some parts like Australia and Japan are in the middle of the morning for them. 

If you want to see the finale event live and in action, you will have to be there at that one single event time. If you miss out, the only thing you can do is watch someone’s stream or video of it. Given that this is the climactic finale of the chapter, you should show up at least an hour before the start time. 

The playlist will open 30 minutes beforehand and possibly fill up fast, but you can join with a party of up to 16 players if you’d like to do it together. For being in the event as it happens, you will receive the special loading screen and weapon wrap that is themed around the fight against The Cube Queen. 

Before we arrive at the Fortnite The End Chapter 2 Finale, there is still a little over a week left in Season 8. There are some recommended content that we think you should finish before then if you do not want to miss out on any of the major goodies from this past season. 

There is, of course, the battle pass in Season 8. If you paid for the premium version of the battle pass, now is the time to grind it out and get as many pages and rewards as you can before the end of the season. Once the season is over, all of those precious rewards will be gone for good. 

But beyond trading in all of your remaining battle pass stars to earn rewards, there is the Toona Fish and its various color styles. You can finish collecting the paint bottles on the map and trading them in for various color versions of the Toona Fish skin. 

There are also the Cube Queen’s two pages of quests to unlock her skin and other themed items that you can do if you have not already. Your gold bars are going to reset as well, so we recommend using them all up to get some advantages in the battle royale matches that you are doing. 

To help with spending gold bars, there is going to be a Bargain Bin Week that will start on November 30 to cut the cost of all services from NPC characters and exotic item trades to encourage you to shop until you drop. There is also a Power Leveling Weekend with supercharged XP for everyone November 26-29.

If that is not enough, starting by the time you read this post and until the end of the season just before the Fortnite The End Chapter 2 Finale event, any player who logs in will receive 225,000 experience to help give you the final boost in your battle pass progression. Put these two together and there is still a chance to finish the season (and Chapter 2) strong.