Fortnite The Simpsons start time: our live coverage of today's The Simpsons update now that Fortnite is in downtime

Welcome, Our Alien Overlords!

Hello Fortnite fans, it's officially time to start my live build up to the Fortnite x The Simpsons live event. I'll give you all of the most up to date info on what to expect, and lead you through the process of how things will work tomorrow.

What time does the next Fortnite live event start

The Fortnite The Simpsons live event begins November 1 at the times listed below:

• East Coast (US): 11AM ET
• West Coast (US): 8AM PT
• United Kingdom: 3PM GMT
• Central Europe: 4PM CET
• Australia (Sydney): 2AM AEDT (November 2)
• Japan (Tokyo): 12AM JST (November 2)

Check out the Fortnite The Simpsons live event countdown

If you head to Creepy Camps in Fortnite Battle Royale, you'll spot Bart's Treehouse, in a distinctly different cel-shaded kind of style. Next to this is a big red countdown clock, ticking down to the event. You can monitor this while in-game, or stay up to date with this live blog. I'll be giving regular updates as to how long is left to go before the live event begins.

A new Tweet advises players to drop in early

The Fortnite X account has posted an update regarding the upcoming live event. It's advised that players drop in early, to avoid missing the festivities. Personally, I'll be jumping into the game half an hour prior to the start time.

Sidekicks arrive next season

Fortnite Sidekicks | Tutorial Video - YouTube

Watch On

On October 30, Epic Games revealed Fortnite Sidekicks. These are essentially pets that players can purchase, with these new companions following around in certain game modes. There's set to be one in the new Battle Pass, and several have been shown off in the reveal trailer.

Jonesy and Hope battle Kang and Kodos

We haven't seen a whole lot of official key art from Epic Games regarding the upcoming The Simpsons tie-in. The image above shows Jonesy and Hope in the style of The Simpsons, facing off with Kang and Kodos. Hopefully we get a look of in-game characters later today.

Fortnite creators will reveal The Simpsons gameplay later today!

Fortnite creators like NickEh30 will reveal early looks at the upcoming The Simpsons tie-in later today. At 3PM ET / 11AM PT / 7PM BST, we'll get our first look at gameplay. You can even see a new key art image in the tweet embedded above, showing off some new skins.

Here's where to find Bart's Treehouse

You can visit Bart's Treehouse in Fortnite Battle Royale mode currently, giving you a sneak peek at the new art-style. I've marked the location on the map below, using a red house icon. It's located in the northwestern corner of Creepy Camps.

Fortnite will head into downtime after the next live event

Epic Games has now confirmed that Fortnite will head into downtime following the conclusion of the Welcome, Our Alien Overlords live event. This will happen at the times below:

• East Coast (US): 11:30AM ET
• West Coast (US): 8:30AM PT
• United Kingdom: 3:30PM GMT
• Central Europe: 4:30PM CET
• Australia (Sydney): 2:30AM AEDT (November 2)
• Japan (Tokyo): 12:30AM JST (November 2)

El Barto wreaks havoc

You may have noticed some updates to the Fortnitemares branding on the main Fortnite channels and website this week. Graffiti from the infamous is scrawled all over, turning Fortnite into 'Fartnite'. If you head in-game, you'll see this too, as well as a small animation of Bart using spray paint. This is the first proper look at the upcoming Bart skin, which puts him in a robotic suit, like Morty.

The Simpsons gets a Rocket League collaboration

The Simpsons has announced a Rocket League collaboration, launching November 1. This likely points to some Rocket Racing tie-ins too, given that this is all owned by Epic Games.

Fortnite live event playlist is now in-game

If you load into Fortnite and scroll down a bit on the Discover menu, you'll find the Fortnite The Simpsons live event playlist. You can't join yet, but this does confirm that it will indeed be a separate playlist.

I'm off for today

We're now just under 22 hours until the start of the next Fortnite live event. I'm heading off for the evening, but I'll be back tomorrow to lead you through the build up to kick off. Until then!

Just three hours until the next Fortnite live event!

Hello again. It's now just a few hours until the start of The Simpsons x Fortnite live event, and a bunch of stuff has been revealed overnight. I'll start by re-iterating the start times below:

• East Coast (US): 11AM ET
• West Coast (US): 8AM PT
• United Kingdom: 3PM GMT
• Central Europe: 4PM CET
• Australia (Sydney): 2AM AEDT (November 2)
• Japan (Tokyo): 12AM JST (November 2)

The Simpsons update preload is live

If you're on PS5 and Xbox, the Fortnite The Simpsons update is available for preload. Just check for the latest update, it's around 35GB. You'll need this to jump into the live event and the new season later on. Credit to @ShiinaBR on X for this news. It's well worth checking out their feed as well, as there's a whole host of new leaks.

Here's when the new season of Fortnite starts

While the live event kicks off at 11AM ET / 8AM PT / 3PM GMT, the Fortnite The Simpsons new season will arrive 6 hours later. This means that you can expect to jump into the new update at the times below:

• East Coast (US): 5PM ET
• West Coast (US): 2PM PT
• United Kingdom: 9PM GMT
• Central Europe: 10PM CET
• Australia (Sydney): 8AM AEDT (November 2)
• Japan (Tokyo): 6AM JST (November 2)

New teaser shows off Bart and Homer

Epic Games has posted a YouTube Short showing a teaser for the upcoming The Simpsons update for Fortnite. We see a look at the map, some new Sidekicks, and items like the Maggie shopping cart Glider, and a Krusty balloon gun.

Fortnite The Simpsons live event countdown: 2 hours to go!

It's now just two hours until the Fortnite The Simpsons live event kicks off. Make sure to jump into the game at least 20 minutes early to secure a spot. There's a separate event playlist in the Discover menu.

Watch the Kang and Kodos teaser

A Kang and Kodos-starring event teaser was posted on the Fortnite X account last night. It shows Jonesy and Hope in full The Simpsons style. Are we going to be fighting off an alien invasion later? Time will tell.

Today's downtime for Fortnite The Simpsons

After the live event, Fortnite will head into downtime before the launch of The Simpsons season. This will kick in at the times below:

• East Coast (US): 11:30AM ET
• West Coast (US): 8:30AM PT
• United Kingdom: 3:30PM GMT
• Central Europe: 4:30PM CET
• Australia (Sydney): 2:30AM AEDT (November 2)
• Japan (Tokyo): 12:30AM JST (November 2)

Fortnite The Simpsons live event countdown: One Hour to go!

We'll be dropping into the latest Fortnite live event in just one hour. Make sure your game is updated, and take a look at the 'Welcome, Our Alien Overlords' playlist in the Discover menu.

Super Squishees for all

We now know that the Kwik-E-Mart's signature drink: The Squishee, will be available in Fortnite as part of the new season. It's an item, similar to a Slurp Juice, that appears to increase movement speed. We'll have to wait and see what other effects it has later on today.

Fortnite The Simpsons live event countdown: 30 minutes until kick off!

The Fortnite The Simpsons live event begins in just 30 minutes. I'd recommend loading into the game now, and waiting in a lobby until the playlist opens up.

Other modes are disabled

According to Fortnite Status on X, Battle Royale, Zero Build, and Ranked are temporarily unavailable leading up to and during the live event.

The Fortnite live event starts now

It's time for the live event to begin! Wait for the playlist to unlock and join with your squad. I'll be giving my impressions as it all unfolds.

Servers are absolutely full!

Me and my squad are having trouble starting the event. Looks like servers are extremely busy, but I'm going to keep trying.

Fortnite live event matchmaking error

I'm getting a matchmaking error when trying to start the event. It appears that services are having some difficulties on Epic's end.

Is the Fortnite live event online?

It would appear that everyone is having trouble getting into the live event. This is a Fortnite-side error, so we'll have to wait for updates.

An instability is opening up

The event has started, and a pink instability portal has opened up above Bart's Treehouse.

There's a giant squid enemy in the sky!

Looks like a giant squid has appeared through the portal. It's slammed down a tentacle, and now there's a cutscene showing Kang and Kodos invading the island.

The event is over, and now we wait for the next season

The live event was pretty much just a cutscene, that looked like an episode of The Simpsons. The Island merged with Springfield to become...Springfield Island. We then got a run through of the intro to The Simpsons, showing off the new season.

The Simpsons | Fortnite starts later today

Now, there's just a loading screen with a countdown to the new season. The game is now in downtime, so we'll have to wait to jump into the new update.

Bart arrives in Fortnite

During the live event, we finally got a good look at Bart Simpson in his Fortnite variant. He has a robotic suit similar to Morty's (Rick and Morty). This is to bring him up to the same general proportions as other characters in the game.

You'll be able to visit Springfield Island once Fortnite downtime is over

Now we wait for a few hours of Fortnite downtime. Be sure to check back in at the times specified in the countdown screen, and you'll be able to dive headfirst into the new season.