Fornite Chapter 5 begins with new content, and new in-game experiences are coming soon

Following a relaunch of the original map for Fortnite in November that caused a new surge in its player count, Epic Games has now launched the Chapter 5 update for its hit battle royale game.

Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1 is called Underground and it pits rich members of The Society against the rebel forces of The Underground in an all-new map. Epic states:

The page has turned to a new Chapter, so what direction to turn to? There’s the chaparral biome in the west, containing the classy Ritzy Riviera marina. Looking for something more remote? Venture to the northwest’s boreal forest where the abandoned Rebel’s Roost mansion lies.

Down south in the center of the Island is the grassland biome, whose pristine views are seen by train passengers traveling to Grand Station at Reckless Railways. Take the train to get to various parts of the Island!

That’s the center and the west, now for the rest. In the east are the boreal tundra and boreal snow biomes, comprising the high alpine Hazy Hillside village and elaborate Grand Glacier Hotel.

Chapter 5 Season 1 also, of course, includes new weapons and items, including a Ballistic Shield. The update also throws in Mod Benches in vaults which lets people mod their weapons as well.

But that's not all. Later this coming week, Fortnite will add in new in-game experiences. The first is coming on February 7 with Lego Fortnite, a crafting-survival game inside Epic's game.

On February 8, Rocket Racing launches in Fortnite, offering up an arcade racing experience made by Rocket League developer Psyonix. A full gameplay trailer for the game will debut on Feb. 7 during the 2023 Game Awards.

Finally, there's Fortnite Festival, developed by Rock Band studio Harmonix. Epic says:

Fortnite Festival is a new music game where players can play in a band with friends or perform solo on stage with hit music by their favorite artists.

It will launch on Saturday, February 9 with The Weeknd as its first artist. It seems clear that Epic is moving towards making Fortnite as a platform for launching new games, similar to the popular Roblox.