Fortnite just did something it has never done before. On June 6, 2026, Chapter 7 Season 3 launched with a brand-new island in the middle of an ongoing chapter, not at the start of one. The season is called Runners, and it comes with a completely rebuilt map, a Sprite collection system that carries over between matches, a built-in extraction mode, new weapons, and movement changes that make the game feel noticeably different from the second you drop.

Sprite Rarity Sprite Power Notes Earth Sprite Rare Chance to find additional rare items when opening Chests Passive, activates on loot Fire Sprite Rare Creates a fiery burst when you deal enough damage to an enemy Threshold-based trigger; damage threshold decreases as it levels up Water Sprite Rare Replenishes shields while in water for you and your nearby squad Squad-wide benefit Duck Sprite Epic Replenishes shields when you emote or jam. Unique utility for non-combat moments Ghost Sprite Epic Grants cloak for a duration upon reloading Strong for repositioning after firing Demon Sprite Epic Siphons health and shields on elimination; scales from 5 HP at Level 1 to 25 HP at max level Best late-game compounding Sprite King Sprite Epic Your pickaxe deals more damage to structures and players Strong in build mode box fights Dream Sprite Legendary Grants a random item at each level; explodes with legendary loot at max level Reward scales heavily with leveling Punk Sprite Legendary Possibly nothing… or infinitely something Intentionally mysterious; no confirmed fixed power Zero Point Sprite Mythic Spawns a Shield Bubble Jr. every time you use a healing item on yourself Only Mythic-tier Sprite at launch

If you played Season 2 and logged off thinking nothing major was coming, this is your wake-up call. The ground has literally shifted.

Whether you are pushing ranked, grinding the Battle Pass, or just hopping in for the first time in months, there is a lot to get across. Below is everything that changed, what it means for how you play, and which parts of the new season are actually worth your time right away.

The Map Is Gone. This Is What Replaced It

The Season 2 island was wiped out by the Shattered live event, which went live on June 5 at 7 PM ET. What replaced it is called the Shattered Coast, a smaller, more compact island with 14 named locations.

The confirmed POIs are:

  • Lifty Lodge

  • Battlewoods

  • Sinister Strip

  • Frosted Flats

  • Shaken Sanctuary

  • Cluster Coast

  • Heatwave Harbor

  • Sunken Shores

  • Calamari Canyon

  • Chopped Shop

  • Golden Grove

  • Wonkeeland

  • Latte Landing

  • The Zero Point

The map being smaller means 100 players are packed into tighter spaces than last season. Early impressions from launch day gameplay point to faster rotations and more frequent early gunfights. If you liked slower, methodical early games, expect an adjustment period. If you thrive in chaos, Season 3 is going to suit you immediately.

This is also the first time in Fortnite’s history that a full-length Battle Royale season has introduced an entirely new map mid-chapter rather than at the start. That alone makes Runners a landmark moment for the game.

Sprites Are Back, and Now You Can Actually Keep Them

Sprites are not new to Fortnite, but Chapter 7 Season 3 overhauls how they work in a way that makes them the center of the entire season.

Every Sprite you equip in a match grants you a Sprite Power, a passive or triggered ability that activates under specific conditions. You start each match with a free starter Sprite from your collection. If you find a rarer Sprite during the match and want to keep it permanently, you need to reach an Extraction Site, call in a crate, and survive long enough to extract it. Pull it off and that Sprite is banked to your account. Get eliminated before it extracts, and the Sprite drops for whoever kills you.

All 10 Launch Sprites, What They Do, and Why Some Already Look Broken

Rare tier:

  • Earth Sprite: Higher chance of finding rare items from Chests

  • Fire Sprite: Triggers a fiery burst after dealing enough damage in a short window

  • Water Sprite: Replenishes your shields and nearby squadmates’ shields while you are in water

Epic tier:

  • Duck Sprite: Replenishes shields when you emote or jam

  • Ghost Sprite: Cloaks you briefly when you reload

  • Demon Sprite: Siphons health and shields on each elimination. Scales from 5 HP at Level 1 up to 25 HP at max level

  • King Sprite: Your pickaxe deals more damage to structures and players

Legendary tier:

  • Dream Sprite: Drops a random item at each level and explodes with legendary loot at max level

  • Punk Sprite: Possibly nothing, possibly infinite upside

Mythic tier:

  • Zero Point Sprite: Spawns a Shield Bubble Jr. every time you use a healing item on yourself

The Demon Sprite and King Sprite Are Already Worth Targeting

The Demon Sprite scales directly with eliminations, which makes it naturally stronger in ranked and late-game scenarios where fights stack. At max level it gives 25 HP and shields per kill. That is not full old-school siphon, but it is meaningful and persistent across matches once extracted.

The King Sprite is the sleeper pick for build mode players. Pickaxe damage is normally irrelevant in a gunfight, but the King Sprite reportedly lets you one-shot through a freshly placed wall in one swing or close to it instead of two. That changes box fight cadence significantly, and it will likely get more attention as the season develops.

Sprite Levels and Sprite Dust: How Progression Works

Sprites level up in-match through three activities: opening Chests, getting eliminations, and extracting Sprites. The higher the level when you extract, the better the reward and the more powerful the Sprite becomes when you bring it into future matches.

Extraction also earns you Sprite Dust, a new in-game currency used to summon previously extracted Sprites at the start of each match. Rarer Sprites cost more Sprite Dust to summon. If you do not have enough, you fall back to your free starter Sprite. This creates a persistent meta loop that rewards players who play consistently across the season.

Four New Weapons and What They Are Actually Good For

Four guns entered the loot pool with the Runners update:

Extending Focus Shotgun

A triple-barrel shotgun that tightens its spread across a three-round volley. Each shot is more accurate than the last, so it rewards players who commit to full bursts rather than popping single shots. It fires faster when you aim down sights, which gives it a play pattern similar to a combat shotgun but with more intentional burst timing.

Surgical Burst Rifle

A burst AR with low recoil and minimal damage falloff at range. Early testing puts headshot damage around 135, which is respectable for a burst pattern. It suits medium-range fights where you want precision without fully committing to a sniper.

Chaos Exploder Rifle

This is the chaotic one. It fires explosive cubes that detonate on surfaces, making it nasty around cover and builds. The splash damage catches players hiding behind walls. The tradeoff is that it is not hitscan, so leading shots matters, and poorly aimed rounds can damage yourself or teammates.

Lancehead Pistol

John Wick’s sidearm comes with a 21-round magazine. The unique mechanic here is that throwing your magazine at an opponent while reloading deals bonus damage. It rewards players who are comfortable with aggressive, fast-paced plays and do not mind the reload animation.

A fifth weapon, the Bank Shot Pistol, is confirmed for the season but was not available at launch. It bounces bullets off surfaces for ricochet shots.

What Returned to the Loot Pool

Several weapons from previous seasons are back:

  • Striker Pump Shotgun

  • Maven Auto Shotgun

  • Chaos Reloader Shotgun

  • Hunting Rifle

  • Ranger Pistol

  • Stinger SMG

The Chaos Reloader remains one of the more oppressive shotguns in close range. Expect it to stay relevant even with the new options available.

Movement Got Faster and Smarter

Two changes to movement stand out immediately.

Ground Rush (the freefall mechanic that lets you plummet fast and skip the slow glide phase) was previously only available in Zero Build. It is now active in standard Build Mode as well. This speeds up early game rotations significantly for build players who were watching Zero Build players land faster every single season.

Seven Sliders are a new traversal item that lets you slide at high speed. When you aim down sights mid-slide, the game briefly slows down, giving you a window for a cleaner shot while moving. They overheat after sustained use, so they are a burst tool rather than a permanent speed option. The interaction with building ramps opens up some movement options that players are still figuring out.

Sliding up a ramp while building simultaneously appears to generate upward momentum that extends your height gain faster than normal. This will likely become a staple build mode tech once the community maps it out fully.

Chapter 7 Season 3 Battle Pass: Every Skin Confirmed

The Runners Battle Pass features eight skins plus Sidekick companions and Sprite cosmetics.

Confirmed skins at launch:

  • The Guardian

  • Heatwave PJ

  • Vanguard Slone (remixed Doctor Slone)

  • Dylan

  • Cluster

  • John Wick, Pen & Ink style (drawn in Fortnite’s comic art style, with his Pitbull as a cosmetic Sidekick)

  • The Voidblade

  • Wolfe

The season also includes a crossover with Twitch streamer TheBurntPeanut, included as a Sidekick companion rather than a standalone playable skin.

The John Wick skin is the headline collab. If you played Chapter 2 and remember the original John Wick set, this version is styled differently with the Pen & Ink comic treatment rather than a photorealistic model.

Doctor Slone returns as a remixed skin, which is notable given she has been absent since Chapter 4. Whether this ties into the season’s story is not yet clear.

One More Mode Coming Later: Bus Exfil

Not available at launch but confirmed for later in Season 3 is Bus Exfil, an alternate win condition where the Battle Bus rifts back into the match mid-game. Teams that manage to board it before a timer expires extract from the match and win. The twist is that multiple squads can board the same Bus, meaning more than one team can win the same match.

This has the potential to dramatically change late-game strategy when it lands. Holding the final circle may no longer be the only viable win path.