Fortnite has just concluded a stunning live event that saw the game’s storyline propelled forward in dramatic style, with a shock defeat for Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s heroic character, and an eye-popping unmasking of his ally played by Ben Starr.
Epic Games’ battle royale is now in downtime following the events of Shattered, the long-awaited conclusion to its latest season that saw players decide the fate of a months-long grudge match between Johnson’s The Foundation and his frosty rival The Ice King.
Shattered was unique as it offered two entirely separate narrative viewpoints from which to view its events, depending on whether you’d previously backed The Foundation or The Ice King over the course of the season. Players who backed The Foundation began the event in a bunker with trusty ally The Visitor (played by Clair Obscur’s Ben Starr) and long-time Fortnite protagonist Jonesy, picking up banter and clues to the mission ahead. Players who picked The Ice King, meanwhile, got a glimpse into his wintry fortress, and learned more about his mission to serve the game’s current major antagonist, The Dark Voyager.
As the two teams moved against each other, players briefly came into combat — though the fireworks were truly reserved for the showdown between The Foundation and The Ice King themselves, which players could follow close-up as they smashed up each other and huge chunks of the Fortnite battle royal Island. Ultimately, The Foundation lost — regardless of team, players were informed on screen that the overall winner of the season was not the former WWE star — and because of that, players saw him frozen solid, his ultimate fate left uncertain. The Ice King fared no better in the end, however, as he was double-crossed by The Dark Voyager, and seemingly reduced to atoms.
It’s interesting to ponder how the pair might have fared if players picked The Foundation to win. Would their fates have been similar, somehow? Either way, both characters have been taken off the board, for now.
Shattered concluded with players witnessing Fortnite’s long-term macguffin, the Zero Point, reforged just in time to completely revamp the game’s map — a mid-year refresh of a kind never seen in Fortnite before. Narratively, it’s a cool idea and fitting with the Zero Point’s return. Mechanically, it’s also a sign Epic Games may be keen to keep its game feeling fresher than ever as player numbers decline.
But the most shocking part of the event was still to come, as Jonesy reflected on its events and realized something fishy was going on… only for trusty ally The Visitor to remove his helmet and reveal himself to actually be Geno — the ultimate villain of Fortnite never properly glimpsed in-game before, but teased in other live events and depicted in spinoff comic books. Geno is a figure that fans have wanted to finally see since his name was initially referenced five years ago. The boss of the Imagined Order, the creator of the Oathbound, his name is legend among Fortnite lore fans… and now he is here, as Fortnite begins its next season in just a few hours’ time.
On social media, fans have reacted with praise for the live event, which featured more gameplay and narrative surprises than any other in recent memory. Starr, meanwhile, has revelled in confirming his role as Geno going forward (and yes, when he appeared tonight at Summer Game Fest, he was indeed wearing a pin teasing his character’s true identity).
For those who want to watch the live event, you can watch its introduction from both teams’ perspective above, with its main gameplay then also watchable from the viewpoint of both Team Foundation and Team Ice King.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
