Fortnite Update 5.22 Drags Fortnitemares 2026 on October 1
It’s that time of the year again, Fortnite fans! As Epic Games is bringing this year’s Fortnitemares event with today’s game update.
Console gamers will see Fortnite update 5.22 available for download on October 1, and this is another hefty download that brings new content, and a ton of gameplay improvements and bug fixes.
For the complete breakdown of new stuff and the fixes, read on.
Fortnitemares 2026 Live via Fortnite Update 5.22
The Nitemare Has Loaded
Bend the rules with new Fortnitemares Overrides: cloak yourself while sprinting with Spooky Sprinter, hit harder as your health drops with Berserk, or disguise yourself as a Halloween prop with Spooky Prop Hunt. Others let you trade shields for extra health, fire pumpkin rockets while shooting weapons, and more.
Freddy’s Animatronics
Five Nights at Freddy’s animatronics are lurking around the Island. Bring one down and you can possess it to play as the animatronic yourself. If your health bottoms out while possessing it, you’ll have a few seconds where you can’t be eliminated before the animatronic shell breaks and you’re back in the fight.
New & Returning Weapons
Reveal enemies through walls with the new Bonerattler SMG and take the fight to Freddy Krueger in the new Nightmare Neighborhood POI. He can hide behind a friendly face, then vanish and reappear close enough to strike. Defeat him to claim Freddy’s Nightmare that lets you teleport into range and slash through your next opponent.
The Wood Stake Shotgun, Dual Fiend Hunters, Witch Broom, and Heavy Assault Rifle also return. Unlock new Loot Hacks to customize your loot pool even more and become your own terror:
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Last Call
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Infantry Rifle
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Pumpkin Launcher
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Light Machine Gun
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Slap Candy Corn
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Loot Hacker Sprite Variants
Loot Pool Updates
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Unvaulted: Quack Snacks
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Vaulted: Drum Gun, Ranger Assault Rifle, Tetris Rift
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[New] Snack-O’-Lantern Gizmo: Toss to smash it open and spill a pile of Exotic Candy. Trick or treat yourself!
Note: Ranked and Competitive playlists will also see a portion of Fortnitemares vaults and unvaults – new weapons, new mobility, let us know what you think!
Balance Adjustments
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Rebecca’s Guns
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Increased the SMG damage, including at longer ranges.
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Reduced spread and recoil on both the SMG and the Assault Rifle.
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A Treat for Your Sprite Collection
Search new Pumpkin Chests for Sprites scattered across the Island, with new arrivals throughout the month including our final community-made #DesignASprite winners!
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Spooky Dash Sprite: Dash into a fight or out of trouble with charges that replenish over time.
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Vampire Sprite: Recover health as you damage enemies.
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The Deer Sprite: Make your melee attacks hit harder.
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Dumpster Dive Sprite: Jump into a hiding spot to find food that restores extra health.
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Honey Sprite (October 15): Send bees after enemies who damage you.
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Obsession Sprite (October 15): Let One Wish Willow help you collect other Sprites.
Trick or Treat Cheat Codes
Cheat Codes have turned into Trick or Treat Cheats. Input one and maybe you’ll get an extra treat alongside your Sprite.
The Corruption Spreads
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Horde Rush: Squad up against waves of Cube Monsters, build a loadout around powerful perks, and grow stronger across matches. Buy and upgrade the weapons you want, take on surprise encounters, or raise the challenge at Cursed Shrines. Defeat the final boss to keep your run going in Endless Mode.
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Blitz Royale: Take the new Bonerattler SMG and Freddy’s Nightmare into faster fights, or become Ghost Face with his Last Call knife, alongside more iconic Fortnitemares unvaults. Eliminate its wielder to take the weapon, and the role, for yourself.
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(OCTOBER 8) Reload: Elite Kado Thorne is calling the shots as Nightmare Island returns on with a refreshed map and a mix of horror weapons, including Siphon loot galore that restores health as you deal damage. Stranger Things and Squid Grounds also join the map rotation.
Power Hours: Bounty Hunter Sprites | October 3
Aim once, hit twice. This Saturday, October 3, everyone drops in with the Dual Fiend Hunters – line up your shot and let both fly.
🕑 Starts at 2 PM ET | 6 PM UTC
🕘 Second round starts at 9 PM ET | Sunday, 1 AM UTC
🏹 Everyone drops in with the Dual Fiend Hunters
🎯 Bounty Hunter Sprites appear more often – eliminate opponents to level them up
🪙 1-Up Tokens and Portable Extractors may drop from Chests
Fortnite Update 5.22 Fixes and Improvements
General
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The redesigned Friends list has returned to the Social tab in the Sidebar.
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The Battle Royale Lobby’s glitch effect no longer incorrectly appears in other Lobbies.
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Fixed Compete tab issues where North America tournaments didn’t load and event posters showed incorrect region tags.
Cosmetics
We’re working hard to fix longstanding cosmetic issues you’ve reported. Each update, we’ll highlight what’s fixed and what’s next. Thanks for reporting these as we work through them.
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The Cupid Kitty Sidekick now plays the correct Emote.
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The Unreal Override and the De-Rezz Unrealizer Pickaxes now both show their correct icon in the Locker.
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The Rush Sidekick and the Walter Irons Outfit are now correctly labeled as part of the Gaming Legends Series.
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Fixed an issue where PAC-MAN’s right foot could move unnaturally while emoting in the Lobby.
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Cosmic Armor Singularity’s head no longer moves unnaturally with the Helmet Style equipped while swinging a Pickaxe.
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Bastian’s cape no longer animates unnaturally when using certain Emotes.
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Added the missing “Unlockable Styles” tag to several Battle Pass Gliders and the Dark Cube-rella Reloaded Glider.
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Peter B. Parker’s robe is no longer missing textures on Xbox One.
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Fixed an issue where the Knuckles’ Gloves, Fists of Justice, and Lois’ Boxing Gloves Pickaxes weren’t positioned correctly on some models.
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The Llama charms on the Oathkeeper & Oblivion Back Bling no longer appear with incorrect shading.
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Added the missing Batmobile (2022) Boost sound effects.
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Added missing blades and visual effects to The Foundation’s Plasma Spike Pickaxe.
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Corrected the Pickaxe blade shape on Phantasmic Pulse’s Hero’s Aura Style.
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Areta the Vengeful’s sleeves no longer clip through the Riptide Claws Pickaxe.
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Fixed a typo in the “Light Green” eye color option for the D0GB0T Sidekick.
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Fixed an issue where the Mystery Inc. Strummer, Bone Head and Nana Jamma Instruments didn’t display correctly when used on the Main Stage.
Mobile
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Fixed an issue where the 1-Up Token notification could block item pickups with Easy Interact toggled on.
PC
Epic Quality Assets Option
An Epic Quality Assets option is now available for Fortnite in the Epic Games Launcher – replacing the previous High Resolution Textures option.
Checking the Epic Quality Assets box downloads the assets to your PC, ensuring the best possible visual quality without needing to rely on your connection. To find it, click the three dots on the Fortnite icon in your Library and select Options. If you previously had High Resolution Textures installed, you’ll be switched over to it automatically.
This option covers Epic-quality gameplay content (e.g. map terrain and objects). Cosmetics will continue to download on demand, so your install size stays lean no matter how big your Locker gets. We’re also continuing to improve the speed of streamed asset delivery.
Streaming Improvements
As of the last v42.20 update, Fortnite now automatically balances your internet connection between gameplay and streamed assets. Gameplay always comes first – if your connection is limited, the game reserves what’s needed to keep your matches running smoothly. When there’s bandwidth to spare, it’s put toward loading cosmetics and the world faster.
We’re also planning to include the same install option for High-quality textures down the road, so you’ll always have the choice to download them instead of streaming.
PC Bug Fixes
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Fixed an issue that could turn the Dynamic 3D Resolution setting off on its own.
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Fixed a rare issue where you couldn’t type in Text Chat until the game was restarted.
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Improved system software performance and stability.
Battle Royale & Zero Build
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Item Pickup Improvements:
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When multiple items are in direct line of sight, the game now prioritizes what you can actually use.
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Ammo and resources you’re full on, and consumables you already have a full stack of are no longer picked up first.
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Fixed an issue on PC where the Forward and Backward movement keys could rebind themselves between matches.
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Cheat Codes can now be heard from farther away, making them easier to find.
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Fixed an issue on Nintendo Switch where Rebecca’s Guns could cause intense flashing when fired.
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A Cheat Code that may spawn in a tunnel near The Battlewoods is now easier to interact with.
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Drivable Reboot Vans have been replaced with stationary Reboot Vans.
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Fixed an issue causing the Mega Buster to sometimes deal damage through walls.
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Added a missing Special-O-Matic Vending Machine to the Pixel Polys location.
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Players on Xbox devices can again enter Lobby Hacks without issue.
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Removed a duplicate Sprite Dust counter from the screen.
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Fixed an issue on PC where Gizmo tiles on the mode selection screen couldn’t be selected with a controller to view their name and description.
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Fixed a visual issue where the rewards preview in the Ranked Quests section could show the previous Season’s rewards.
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Fixed an issue where the Recent Players list in the Add Friends menu wasn’t showing players from your recent matches and parties.
Fortnite OG
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The Island’s terrain now better matches its Chapter 1 shape, restoring missing cliffs and walkable surfaces.
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Destructible rocks at The Volcano now wobble and show cracks when damaged.
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Brightened the grass on the Starter Island to bring it closer to Chapter 1 appearance.
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Adjusted the snow and ice throughout the snow biome to be closer to how it looked in Chapter 1.
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Removed dark lines that appeared on the ground near the desert biome.
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Restored missing foliage throughout the snow biome.
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Increased foliage density in the jungle biome to match Chapter 1 look.
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Waterfalls and cliffs at the edges of the Island no longer appear disconnected from the ocean.
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Restored Grandma’s House to its original Chapter 1 look, including its tree placement, missing rock and posters.
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Removed misplaced snow from the trees and terrain at Viking Village.
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Corrected a piece of missing terrain at Fatal Fields.
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Restored the missing geysers near Salty Springs and Loot Lake.
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The smoke behind The Meteor now better matches its Chapter 1 look.
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Corrected the roof tile color on the barn south of Paradise Palms.
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Adjusted the color and placement of several trucks between Pressure Plant and Mega Mall.
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Added the missing string lights on a building at Paradise Palms.
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Objects at Pleasant Park no longer flicker at close distances on lower quality settings.
Save the World
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Fixed an issue where completing a Mission could leave you stuck on the blue Rewards screen until the game was restarted.
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Fixed an issue where you could get stuck on the “Attempting to connect to Lobby” message when rejoining a Mission you had previously left.
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Reduced the delay before the Defeat screen appears after failing a Survive the Night Mission.
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Fixed an issue in the Canny Valley Ready to Rock Quest where Quest items could sometimes spawn inside the terrain, making them impossible to collect.
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Leftover Husk Pods no longer stay marked on the map after completing the Strange Poddities Quest objective mid-Mission.
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The Play button on Venture/Dungeon Quest descriptions no longer sends you to a zone that doesn’t match the Quest’s Power Level requirement.
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Ability cooldown timers no longer appear frozen after being eliminated in the Dungeons.
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Ghosts no longer move slower while holding down the Shoot button in the Dungeons.
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The Storm King’s tornado is now correctly aligned during the encounter.
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Fixed floating Defender weapons sometimes floating on the Mission Results screen.
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The Mission Start widget no longer appears wider than intended.
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Player name buttons on the “Select the Leader” screen are no longer stretched across the full width of the screen.
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The Hexsylvania World Map no longer flickers on the Map screen.
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Heroic Hours are no longer incorrectly labeled “Power Hours” on the Map and in the Quest Log.
LEGO Fortnite
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Balloons can now be built in Quick Build mode when Free Crafting is off.
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Vehicle power audio now plays correctly even when no Power Cells are placed in the Power Center.
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Floating rocks on the coasts of Klombo Island have been fixed.
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The Proximity Sensor now drops resources and spawns debris on destruction.
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You can no longer get blocked inside the Apartments POI when interacting with the couch through the wall.
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You can now exit the Batmobile when stuck or blocked on both sides.
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Fixed a photosensitivity issue caused by spamming Quick Build at night.
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[Brick Life] The previously non-interactable Dim Sum Cart is now interactable.
Fortnite Festival
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Fixed an issue where Jam Tracks in the Featured Rotation couldn’t be selected on the Main Stage.
There are still a lot of known issues, which might be sorted out in a future minor update and if that gets released, we’ll let our readers know.
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