Fortnite’s pacifist “Party Royale” mode is live now

The minimap for the Papaya Event/LTM pic.twitter.com/do65chZLeI

— FortTory – Fortnite Leaks & News (@FortTory) April 29, 2020

Codenamed Papaya, the map is a dinkier iteration of the standard island, featuring mini-game areas for foot and vehicle races, glider challenges, football and motorboating. There is a plaza with phone boxes that lets players change skins on the fly, and vending machines that dispense items like paint guns and vehicles. “Welcome to the Party! Leave your weapons and mats behind and hang out with friends, play games, perfect your skydive and more. The party’s just getting started!" reads the description. 

Some important ''Party Royale'' locations:

– The Stage
– Race Center
– The Arcade
– LockerStation pic.twitter.com/kpMHjX1zpe

— FortTory – Fortnite Leaks & News (@FortTory) April 29, 2020

Epic Games added that this will be an “experimental and evolving” mode, and areas of the new map seem to suggest that events could be held in Party Royale. This pivot to pacifist may seem superficially strange, but the battle royale does offer other elements than only hunting players for sport. Travis Scott’s Astronomical concert was attended by more than 27.7 million unique players, smashing the all-time player record, and then some. The game’s Creative Mode lets players construct their own island and build structures to fit their own favoured style of play. And, Playground was a limited-time mode which offered the option to turn friendly fire on so that all players could roam around them map to their heart’s content.