Epic Games announced that its original Save the World mode will become free-to-play on April 16, 2026. The developer also confirmed the mode will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 on the same date.
The move ends a nearly nine-year period where the mode remained paywalled behind rotating add-on packs. This shift opens the game’s original survival experience to a wider audience and introduces the mode to a new console platform.
Epic Games stated that the update will allow all players to access Save the World without purchasing access. The company launched a community goal website to drive interest ahead of the release, offering free rewards for registration.
Save the World launched in summer 2017 as a paid player-versus-environment survival mode. It served as the precursor to Fortnite’s battle royale mode but has received sporadic updates in recent years.
The announcement follows recent news regarding changes to the pricing and availability of the game’s V-Bucks currency. Epic Games, the billion-dollar publisher, stated the pricing changes were necessary to “pay the bills.”
