Fortnite's New Reboot Van Comes From The Apex Legends Playbook

While Fortnite probably isn't at much risk of losing its position as one of the most popular games around, that doesn't necessarily mean the folks at Epic Games can rest on their laurels. Apex Legends popularized some interesting and compelling twists to the standard battle royale formula, and in the time since it launched, we've seen Fortnite pick up a few of those ideas as well. In fact, Fortnite's next addition – Reboot Vans – seem to be ripped straight from the Apex Legends playbook.

Anyone who has played Apex Legends for really any amount of time will likely be familiar with the game's Respawn Beacons. When one of your teammates bites the dust, you can pick up their banner from their loot box and take it to one of those Beacons to bring them back into the game.

Respawning is a concept that's going to make its way to Fortnite in next week's patch. Reboot Vans work pretty much the same way as Apex Legends' Respawn Beacons do. In duos and squad games, fallen teammates will drop Reboot Cards on death, which can be picked up by surviving teammates and taken to a Reboot Van to bring those once-dead players back to life.

Just like in Apex, respawned players won't have any weapons or items when they come back, so you'll need to either protect them as they loot up or you'll need to give them some of the weapons you're currently carrying. Reboot Vans also have cooldown timers that disable them for an period time after use, so you can't just expect to camp one and constantly respawn any teammate that might die as you hold position.

You can learn more about Reboot Vans in the developer update embedded above. Epic has confirmed that Reboot Vans are shipping with the next update, which is likely coming early next week. We'll be breaking down those patch notes for you when that update drops, so check back here at SlashGear for more.