Fortnite’s Showdown Power Hour was scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2026, with sessions at 3:30 PM and 9:30 PM Eastern Time (ET). Epic announced Ice King’s Gauntlets and an Epic Vector 7 DMR as the starting loadout, double Rival Credits for Rivalry wins, and temporarily boosted contributions to each player’s chosen Showdown team. The event and its related Soft Roller Pickaxe eligibility deadline have passed.
When was Fortnite’s Showdown Power Hour?
Epic Games’ Battle Royale Communities Team announced two sessions on Saturday, March 28, 2026: 3:30 PM ET and 9:30 PM ET. Epic’s announcement supplied the times in Eastern Time; it did not provide a complete schedule for other regions.
The announcement described the sessions as the same Power Hour at two different times, not as separate versions with different rules. Epic’s event announcement said: “Harness the power of both Teams with two Power Hours this Saturday March 28 at 3:30 PM & 9:30 PM ET!”
What changed during the event?
Epic announced three gameplay effects for the Power Hour matches:
#1 Best Overall
- Code for Bonus Virtual Item Included – Tooth Pick Pickaxe
- Hall Effect Thumbsticks and Triggers – Contact-free magnetic sensors in the thumbsticks and triggers provide a more fluid pro-level feel to help with precision and longevity
- Low Latency Wireless – Play wirelessly on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows 10/11 using the included Wireless USB Adapter
- Advanced Gaming Buttons – Get an edge over the competition with 4 mappable buttons that you can program on the fly, mid-game—no system settings to configure
- 3-Way Trigger Locks – Set the travel distance of the triggers with three different positions to pull off quicker actions in your favorite FPS games or go full throttle in a high-end race car
- Players would start with Ice King’s Gauntlets and an Epic Vector 7 DMR.
- Rivalry wins would earn double Rival Credits.
- Contributions to the player’s chosen Showdown team would be temporarily boosted.
Epic did not state the size of the team-contribution boost in the announcement, so there is no confirmed multiplier to report.
What was the Soft Roller Pickaxe deadline?
The pickaxe was tied to a separate Battle Royale objective, not just to attending a Power Hour: Epic said players could earn the Soft Roller Pickaxe by getting a Battle Royale Victory Royale by March 30, 2026, at 8 AM ET. The announcement described paint-splash effects on every swing and said the pickaxe would be granted at a later date. That eligibility window is over, so it is not a current way to claim the reward.
Rank #2
- Now Including Hall Effect Modules – Say goodbye to stick drift with contact-free magnetic sensors in the thumbsticks giving you smoother control, enhanced precision, and increased longevity
- Code for Bonus Virtual Item Included – Moon Bounce Emote
- 2 Types of Glow – Bring the spirit of the arcade to your controller with a glow in the dark effect and a reaction when a UV light is applied giving off a fluorescent glow
- Advanced Gaming Buttons – Get an edge over the competition with two mappable buttons you can program on-the-fly, mid-game—no system settings to configure
- 3-Way Trigger Locks – Set the travel distance of the triggers with three different positions to pull off quicker actions in your favorite FPS games or go full throttle in a high-end race car
How does this differ from later Fortnite Power Hours?
Epic support documentation also describes Saturday Power Hours at 3:30 PM and 9:30 PM ET in the context of a later Runners season’s weekly Sprite events. Those seasonal rules and Sprite modifiers are not the rules announced for the March 28 Showdown Power Hour. See Epic’s support page on weekly Sprite events for that separate context.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Feel you in-game actions and environement simulated through haptic feedback
- Experience varying force and tension at your fingertips with adaptive triggers
- Chat online through the built-in microphone
- Connect a headset directly via the 3.5mm jack
- Switch voice capture on and off using the dedicated mute button
Rank #4
- Made for PC, Cloud, and Mobile - Optimized for gaming on PC desktops and laptops. Connect to cloud gaming devices such as compatible Smart TVs, and Android smartphones and tablets
- Bonus Fortnite virtual item included (Assault Bomber)
- Hall Effect Thumbsticks and Triggers - Reliable Hall Effect sensors built into the thumb sticks and triggers deliver a more precise and fluid response
- 3 Connection Options - Reliable connection via low-latency 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, or Wired USB for the most flexibility on various gaming devices
- Mappable Buttons - Boost your effectiveness with 4 customizable Advanced Gaming Buttons that let you adapt to any gaming experience
Rank #3
- Now Including Hall Effect Modules – Say goodbye to stick drift with contract-free magnetic sensors in the thumbsticks giving you smoother control, enhanced precision, and increased longevity
- Advanced Gaming Buttons – Get an edge over the competition with two mappable buttons you can program on-the-fly, mid-game—no system settings to configure
- 3-Way Trigger Locks – Set the travel distance of the triggers with three different positions to pull off quicker actions in your favorite FPS games or go full throttle in a high-end race car
- Dual Rumble Motors – Take your gaming experience to the next level, providing tactile feedback and sensations that bring your virtual worlds to life
- Immersive Impulse Triggers – Provides reactive rumble sensations using built-in motors so you can feel the action of the game*
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