Fortnite offering XP Boost weekend and pickaxe to apologise for holiday downtime

Epic Games has announced an XP Boost during this weekend where players will be able to power level faster than usual. On top of that, a pickaxe will be gifted to those affected by the recent service outages during the holiday period.

Fortnite has had a rough time of late. As many players will be aware, on December 29th, the game saw an unusually long down period that left them stranded and unable to play. For six long hours, Fortnite users were unlikely to get into the game, and hours on either end of that were also affected by stability issues.

This came at a disastrous time with players off work and school, not to mention many looking forward to using newly-opened console gifts. It’s just about the worse time for the game’s stability to be compromised.

However, Epic Games has acknowledged the inconvenience and is trying to offer some compensation for those left hanging.

In a tweet, Epic announced that the game will be getting an XP boosted weekend this week. It will be available on all platforms and run from January 7 at 7 pm ET to January 10 at 7 pm ET. This will offer players a double multiplier on XP, giving them the chance to rush through their battle passes and complete challenges quickly. If you’ve been putting off unlocking rewards until later down the track, definitely jump in.

Added bonuses

That’s not the only make-good Epic is offering though. It was also announced that the Crescent Shroom Pickaxe will be gifted to players who logged into the game during the Winterfest event. This will let players who have been active lately get their hands on the item for free before it comes to the shop for others to buy.

As ever, these kinds of service outages are undoubtedly annoying. It’s almost certainly the worst time of year for it to happen, with people having free time and new hardware to play with. That being said, Epic Games didn’t have to offer compensation for the downtime, so it’s great to see players benefiting from being put out. A double XP weekend is nothing to sniff at, especially as the new-ish season means that many will still likely be working their way through their Battle Pass.

If you’d like to expand your current roster, here is a list of all the recent skins that have come to Fortnite. From Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to Boba Fett and a whole bunch more, there are loads you can kit yourself out with here to express your own fandoms.

All the best new Fortnite skins