Fortnite the Final Showdown: The Giant Robot wins
It was a battle for the ages.
The hero that saved us all.
Fortnite season 9 is almost over and Epic Games gave it a big sendoff. It was the Polar Peak Monster vs. the Giant Robot from Pressure Plant and it was the robot that won.
What happened
Right at the 2 p.m. ET start time, out of the water came the monster with its Godzilla-like scream. It began shooting lasers from its mouth as it destroyed everything in its path. At the same time, the giant robot was activated. The two met up in the middle of the island as the robot let loose a series of missiles from its arms. It then charged the monster and tackled it into the water.
Like in an anime, the giant robot shot several missiles from its arms.
As the robot flew back onto the island, the monster leaped from the water. In cowardly fashion, it attacked the robot from behind, ripping parts of it off.
The monster takes a big bite out of the robot.
The mech, in a last-ditch effort, threw the beast off him. It then crawled to a power source in Loot Lake that revitalized it, giving it just enough power for a punch to the monster. The giant robot then walked to Neo Tilted and pulled out a hidden sword from one of the buildings. It thrust the blade into the skull of the monster, leaving only a giant skull behind.
All that's left of the Polar Peak monster.
The giant robot performed its victory floss dance, and flew to the sky heroically.
What changed
Not much. These events typically cause various changes on the island, such as the destruction of Tilted Towers and Retail Row during the season 8 volcano event. However, the Final Showdown hasn't shown any lasting effects on the map as of yet. Some have speculated that no changes were made because the Fortnite World Cup starts on July 26, and making changes to the island wouldn't be ideal for competitors.
What's the Final Showdown?
Every season of Fortnite has a story that plays out over the course of 12 weeks and ends with a closing event. The event changes the island and gives some new life to the game in time for the start of the next season.
Data miners found the name of the event Wednesday within the v9.40 update: the Final Showdown. Developer Epic Games confirmed the name via tweet later in the day.
This season, players saw something strange at Polar Peak. A giant eyeball in a glacier appeared, and it would track players in front of it, leading the fan base to speculate that it was a monster. In the following weeks, something escaped from the ice and began trampling parts of the island. A giant robot was built at Pressure Plans in recent weeks, piece by piece, to fight the monster.
Epic went all out for this event. An hour before the event, the company began disabling all other modes in Fortnite, allowing players to only access Creative mode and the Final Showdown limited-time mode, in which players were able to respawn, unlike in the traditional battle royale mode. Minutes before the start time, players were given jet packs, and weapons were no longer doing damage.
All other modes and LTMs have been disabled in preparation for the Final Showdown!
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) July 20, 2019
It was in June 2018 that the company held its first Fortnite event, the rocket launch, to end season 4. Some players who tried to watch the one-time event were eliminated or simply couldn't get the proper vantage point. Since that time, Epic has added various safety options to keep players alive during the event.
With the Final Showdown over, Fortnite season 10 will be around the corner, with big changes coming.
Originally published July 20 at 12:29 p.m. PT.
Update, July 19: Adds mech outfit skin. July 20: Adds results, along with map changes and images.
