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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteFortnite OG recreated the original rocket launch on July 26, 2025. The event began at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT / 7 p.m. BST), lasted only a few minutes, and ended with a red crack in the sky—visually different from the blue crack reported after the original June 30, 2018 launch. The two events are related, but the 2025 Blast Off was a recreation, not the original.
What happened in the Fortnite rocket launch event?
The first Blast Off took place in Fortnite on June 30, 2018. In a contemporaneous account for Forbes, contributor Erik Kain described watching the launch during a 50 vs. 50 match. The rocket’s thruster broke off and landed at Anarchy Acres. Lasers appeared to target Tilted Towers, but the rocket turned away before hitting it. It then passed through rifts, reappeared near Moisty Mires and Loot Lake, and broke through the top of the storm dome, leaving a crack in the sky.
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Kain described the defining image this way: “The rocket left this enormous crack in the sky.” That route is his account of what he saw in a match, not a complete technical description of every server’s event.
When did the Fortnite OG Blast Off event start?
The 2025 recreation was scheduled for July 26 at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT / 7 p.m. BST. TechRadar’s event-day coverage reported that players could enter a match twenty minutes before the event, with player damage and storm circles disabled. The reporter also recommended joining earlier and noted matchmaking errors before launch; these were observations from that event day, not instructions for an event that has already ended.
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- Redeemable on accounts in the United States and in U.S. Dollars.
- Gift card must be redeemed at EpicGames.com/redeem. This gift card WILL NOT work if redeemed directly on a console device (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, etc.)
- If you play Fortnite experiences on a console device, you need to link your Epic Games account to your console account(s) so items purchased at Fortnite.com/item-shop appear across all of your linked accounts
- Requires internet connection, valid Epic account and prior acceptance of the terms
- Redemption: Online
Epic’s announcement invited players to “Drop into Fortnite OG on July 26 to experience the Blast Off live event!” The recreation was experienced in Fortnite OG, rather than as a replay of the 2018 match.
How did the 2025 recreation unfold?
TechRadar’s Jake Green reported that the rocket launched and followed a broadly similar rift sequence to the original. A red butterfly appeared shortly before launch. The event ended with a red crack in the sky, rather than the blue crack associated with the 2018 launch in the cited coverage.
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- Redeemable on accounts in the United States and in U.S. Dollars.
- Gift card must be redeemed at EpicGames.com/redeem. This gift card WILL NOT work if redeemed directly on a console device (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, etc.)
- If you play Fortnite experiences on a console device, you need to link your Epic Games account to your console account(s) so items purchased at Fortnite.com/item-shop appear across all of your linked accounts
- Requires internet connection, valid Epic account and prior acceptance of the terms
- Redemption: Online
Green described the recreation as lasting a few minutes. The original was also described as lasting a few minutes, but the reporting does not give a stopwatch measurement for either event.
Was the Fortnite OG event the same as the original?
| Detail | Original Blast Off | Fortnite OG recreation |
|---|---|---|
| Date and context | June 30, 2018; the original in-game rocket launch. | July 26, 2025; a recreation in Fortnite OG. |
| Access described in coverage | Kain observed it during a 50 vs. 50 match, as reported by Forbes. | TechRadar reported that players could join a Fortnite OG match ahead of the event. |
| Approximate duration | A few minutes, as described by TechRadar’s comparison; no measured time stated. | A few minutes, according to TechRadar; no measured time stated. |
| Sky crack | Blue, as described in TechRadar’s comparison of the two events. | Red, as reported by TechRadar’s event-day account. |
The sequence was deliberately familiar, but the dates, game context and final sky color distinguish the recreation from the original.
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- An Epic Games account is required to redeem an Epic Games Store Card code
- If playing on a console platform (PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Nintendo Switch or Mobile) you need to link your Epic Games account to that gaming platform (one time) to redeem your gift card code
- The 16 digit code on the back of the card WILL NOT work if redeemed directly through your gaming platform (PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Nintendo Switch, Mobile, etc.)
- Note: Nintendo devices do not support Fortnite Shared Wallet, so V-Bucks purchased using your account balance will not show up on your Nintendo device. However, if you purchase items in the web Item Shop — or another platform where you play Fortnite — those items will be available in your Locker across all platforms.
- Redemption: Online
What did the red rift mean?
The cited event-day account reports the red crack and the red butterfly, but does not establish what either meant. No confirmed lore explanation for the color change is provided by these sources, so it should not be treated as a settled clue or official explanation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How many people watched the original Fortnite rocket launch?
Forbes did not have an exact total for people watching in-game or across Twitch and YouTube. Kain reported that Ninja and his squad’s stream had half a million concurrent viewers. That figure belongs to their stream; it is not the event-wide audience total.
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- An Epic Games account is required to redeem an Epic Games Store Card code
- If playing on a console platform (PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Nintendo Switch or Mobile) you need to link your Epic Games account to that gaming platform (one time) to redeem your gift card code
- The 16 digit code on the back of the card WILL NOT work if redeemed directly through your gaming platform (PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Nintendo Switch, Mobile, etc.)
- Note: Nintendo devices do not support Fortnite Shared Wallet, so V-Bucks purchased using your account balance will not show up on your Nintendo device. However, if you purchase items in the web Item Shop — or another platform where you play Fortnite — those items will be available in your Locker across all platforms.
- Redemption: Online
Rank #4
- Redeemable on accounts in the United States and in U.S. Dollars.
- Gift card must be redeemed at EpicGames.com/redeem. This gift card WILL NOT work if redeemed directly on a console device (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, etc.)
- If you play Fortnite experiences on a console device, you need to link your Epic Games account to your console account(s) so items purchased at Fortnite.com/item-shop appear across all of your linked accounts
- Requires internet connection, valid Epic account and prior acceptance of the terms
- Redemption: Online
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
