The news was announced by Epic Games on X (formerly Twitter), alongside a confirmation of the downtime.

"Galactic Battle Awaits! Downtime for v35.00 begins at 2 AM ET with matchmaking ending shortly beforehand."

For UK fans, this means that Fortnite will be taken offline in full at 7am BST, while matchmaking will be disabled at 6.30am UK time.

Epic hasn't revealed exactly when downtime will come to an end, but maintenance for a new season typically lasts for 3-4 hours.

This means Fortnite and all companion game modes should be back online from 10am BST UK time at the earliest.

The extended downtime makes it slightly harder to predict, so keep checking back for confirmation about the Fortnite server maintenance.

As you can see from the trailer above, Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 3 is titled Galactic Battle and will revolve around Star Wars.

The map will introduce multiple locations based on Star Wars, while the Battle Pass will contain various characters from the Star Wars universe.

The first skin is Apprentice Evie, who is described as a "Force-sensitive vigilante spreading peace across the Galaxy".

That's on top of Poe Dameron, as well as Wookiee Team Leader, Emperor Palpatine and General Grievous later in the season. Additional Star Wars characters will be available to purchase in the Item Shop, such as Darth Jar Jar, Mace Windu and a customisable Mandalorian.

As for the Fortnite map, locations include the Resistance Base, First Order base, Vader Samurai's Solitude, Outpost Enclave and returning POIs like Crime City.