Fortnite is a battle royale game: you can build buildings, dance, and do many other things, but the ultimate goal of the game is to shoot people and be the last one alive. But Fortnite's biggest and most memorable events are often those that do not involve mass murder. [For example, a recent Travis Scott concert drew 27.7 million unique players, and even more conventional in-game events, like a big rocket launch a few years ago, attract large crowds. (Epic seems to be trying to beef up the social aspect of Fortnite by adding a new "Party Royale" mode with "All chill, no sweat" in an email sent to content creators (then someone added an NDA shared on social media) because they apparently forgot to add a "Party Royale" mode.

"Party Royale is a new, experimental, evolving space. Leave your weapons and mats behind."

Dataminers quickly sprang into action, creating a slightly expanded description of the mode, a new map, and images of Party Royale-exclusive weapons and sprites.

An even bigger surprise is that the mode is now live: Epic's email suggested that the party would start on Friday, but Fortnite Intel's FireMonkey discovered that it actually opened today, and an Epic representative told us that the new mode is indeed accessible now. Friday's test is still scheduled for 9 a.m. ET, but that timing is subject to change. More details will no doubt be announced soon.