Epic has just announced Ballistic, a new 5v5 FPS mode or "experience" coming to Fortnite on December 11. Ballistic's early access phase will feature a single map and attacking/defending gameplay centered on planting/defusing a bomb (or more family friendly "Rift Point Device" here). The surprise mode is Epic's first stab at the hardcore, competitive, asymmetric format present in Call of Duty, Valorant, and most notably Counter-Strike.
Ballistic's imminent early access launch will feature a single map, Skyline 10, which looks like a gorgeous, vaguely cyberpunk Japanese city at sundown. Its lone mode is basically CoD's Search and Destroy or Counter-Strike's Bomb Defusal, with one team charged with planting a bomb, and the other tasked with defending bomb sites or defusing the "Rift Point Device" in the event of a successful planting. There's no respawning until the beginning of the next round, and players begin with just a pistol, having to purchase weapons and equipment that's lost on death.
Though beginning with just one map, it seems clear that Epic has ambitions for this to become its own thing, a sub-game under the Fortnite umbrella like Lego Fortnite. Ballistic will have both ranked and casual play, with the promise of more maps, weapons, and features coming down the line. What's more, the mode also supports the most prominent skins and other cosmetics available in Fortnite.
It's an extremely interesting move for Fortnite, and lines up with Epic's stated strategy of diversifying the number of experiences under the juggernaut battle royale. We also now finally know what Epic's plan was when it revealed the new first person experimental camera module for Fortnite earlier this year. I'll be eager to see how Ballistic differentiates itself in this increasingly competitive space, as well as how Fortnite's movement and shooting translate to this wildly different, more constrained game type.
