Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4: Sonic, Override & End Date

Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4: Override went live on Thursday, 20 August 2026, and Epic's Battle Pass page says it ends on 1 November 2026. That's 73 days. Sonic the Hedgehog headlines the pass, and the season is built around cheating: consoles that rewrite the rules mid-match, Cheat Codes on the Island, and hacks you pull in from outside the game.

Epic's own line for it is "Break the Rules. Change the Game." Here's the short version.

Worth pausing on that end date. Epic published it on launch day, on the Battle Pass page, word for word: "Ends November 1, 2026 Eastern Time." It did not do that for the current Festival season, which is still running with no published end date at all. You can plan this one properly.

When did Chapter 7 Season 4 start?

Season 4 arrived with update v42.00 on 20 August 2026. Epic's status page put the downtime at 2 AM ET, which it also wrote as 6 AM UTC, with matchmaking switching off 30 minutes before that and a maintenance window running to 11:00 UTC.

That's the downtime start, not the moment you could play. Epic never published a "the season begins at" time, so here is the one time it did publish, converted.

Season 3 did not end with a live event, whatever you may have read. Epic ran something it called an Unstable Story Moment on 15 August at 2 PM ET, and never used the words "live event" for it. The live countdown now runs on Season 4.

What Override actually means

Override Consoles spawn in every match. Epic's announcement post puts it this way: they "let you rewrite the rules for the entire server, but you have to get there first." Rare and Mythic Squad Overrides work the same way except the buff goes only to the squad that claims it first. There's a catch: Epic says claiming one broadcasts your squad's location on the map.

Cheat Codes are hidden around the Island, tucked into POIs and sprayed on walls. Interact with one, type the code in, and you free a Sprite ally. Lobby Hacks work the other way round: you find the code outside the game, then enter it in a new Admin Panel in your Lobby for XP and Sprite Dust.

Sprite Dust is what you spend on Loot Hacks, which add bonus items to your Chest drops that you can't find anywhere else.

The Consoles are the part that will decide games. A rule change that applies to the whole server, awarded to whoever arrives first, turns every Console into a mid-match fight worth taking. Expect them to become the drop-spot argument of this season.

Sonic the Hedgehog headlines the Battle Pass

The Battle Pass costs 800 V-Bucks. Epic's other route is Fortnite Crew, which is a paid monthly subscription that includes the Pass, so treat it as a second way to pay rather than a free one. V-Bucks are bought with real money, and Epic publishes no real-money price for the Pass itself.

Epic's Battle Pass page names eight Outfits:

Tails is in there too, as a Sidekick rather than an Outfit.

Two of the pass rewards run on a clock. Buy the pass before 27 August at 11:59 PM ET and you also get the Infiltrator Grace Crowne Outfit and its accessories. Gift the pass to a friend at any point this season and you both get the Peril Peak Mali Outfit and its accessories. The Grace Crowne one is the only thing in Season 4 with real urgency attached, so if you were buying the pass anyway, buy it this week.

Is Mega Man in the Battle Pass?

No. The wrong version is already circulating, so it's worth stating plainly.

Epic mentions Mega Man twice and neither is the pass. Once as a weapon, the Mega Buster arm cannon, which Epic says will "take your enemies offline". Once in the Item Shop list. The pass is the eight Outfits above.

The Item Shop is where the rest of the crossovers land, and Epic named these for release across the season: KINGDOM HEARTS, Pac-Man, Mega Man, Persona 5 Royal, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, 99 Nights in the Forest, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro the Dragon in what Epic calls his "iconic legacy look". That list ends with "and more", and Epic gave no dates or prices for any of it.

The three new places to drop

Epic's v42.00 notes name three. Green Hill Zone is the one you already know the shape of, and Epic's advice is to keep your speed up through the loops. Stone Sanctum is an ancient ruin with things to find. Reality's Reign is where the pipes and power cables running across the Island lead back to.

If you're new to the map, Stone Sanctum is the quieter learning drop of the three. Green Hill Zone is going to be contested for weeks.

New weapons, and what came back

New this season:

• Midas' Masterpiece, which Epic calls "a single-fire golden pistol that packs a high-damage punch, capable of eliminating foes in a single headshot". Ammo is limited and it spawns once, so whoever grabs it gets one run with it

• The Mega Buster arm cannon

• 8-Bit Shotgun

• Sonic Power Sneakers, with a grounded Spin Dash and an airborne Spin Attack

• Tetris Rift, 1-Up Token and God Mode Llama

Epic also flagged two things for later in the season rather than launch day: the Kingdom Key from KINGDOM HEARTS, and Rebecca's Guns from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Neither is in the game yet.

Twelve things came out of the vault, which is the bigger story than the new weapons. Guns first: the Pump Shotgun, Assault Rifle, Ranger Assault Rifle, Drum Gun, Minigun, Tactical Pistol, Dual Pistols, Oni Shotgun and Flare Gun. Then the items: Bass Boost, Overdrive Grenade and Chug Splash.

Your Season 3 Sprites are safe

Sprites carry over, which is the answer most people wanted. Epic's v42.00 notes say the ones you collected in Season 3 "are immortalized in the new Sprite Garden launching tomorrow", and that a whole new generation is on the Island for Season 4.

Read that quote carefully. The notes went up on the morning of 20 August, so the Sprite Garden opens on 21 August. It isn't in the game today.

Epic named eleven new Sprites: Klombo, Sonic, Tails, Shadow, Jackrabbit, 8-Bit, Crown, Adventure, Bush, Jonesy and Killswitch. Three effects are spelled out. The Sonic Sprite makes you sprint faster, the Shadow Sprite reloads your weapons over time, and the Tails Sprite lets you hover.

Epic said nothing about Battle Pass level or XP carrying across. Our Season 3 launch guide has the Runners systems if you need to check what you had.

Season 4 vs Season 3

Three days shorter, so nothing has really changed on pace. The Season 4 archive page tracks the dates as they move.

Every season before this one sits on the seasons archive, which is the fastest way to see how much these lengths swing.

Four things to do first

1. Decide on the pass before 27 August at 11:59 PM ET. That's the Infiltrator Grace Crowne cutoff, and it's the only Season 4 deadline that exists right now.

2. Drop Stone Sanctum for your first few games. Green Hill Zone will be a bloodbath while everyone tries the loops.

3. Find an Override Console early and watch what a rule change does to a lobby before you commit to fighting over one.

4. Don't spend Sprite Dust on the first Loot Hack you see. It changes your Chest drops, so it's worth knowing the options before you lock one in.

FAQ

When does Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 end? 1 November 2026. Epic's Battle Pass page states "Ends November 1, 2026 Eastern Time."

When did Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 start? 20 August 2026, with update v42.00. Downtime began at 2 AM ET, which is 6 AM UTC.

Is Sonic in Fortnite? Yes. Sonic the Hedgehog headlines the Chapter 7 Season 4 Battle Pass, and Tails is included as a Sidekick.

What is the Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 theme? Video games. Epic's name for the season is Override and its line is "Break the Rules. Change the Game."

How much is the Chapter 7 Season 4 Battle Pass? 800 V-Bucks, or it's included with a Fortnite Crew subscription.

Is Mega Man in the Chapter 7 Season 4 Battle Pass? No. Epic lists Mega Man as Item Shop content and as a weapon, the Mega Buster. He is not one of the eight pass Outfits.

Do my Season 3 Sprites carry over to Season 4? Yes. Epic says Season 3 Sprites are kept in a new mode called the Sprite Garden, which opens on 21 August 2026. Season 4 adds eleven new Sprites on the Island.