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Underwater Swimming Discovered in Fortnite Leak

By Noam Radcliffe

Underwater swimming may be on its way to Fortnite, per leaked animations.
Underwater swimming may be on its way to Fortnite, per leaked animations. / Courtesy of Epic Games

A Fortnite data miner found an animation that appears to be for swimming underwater in the files for the game following Update 12.41, applied to live servers Tuesday.

In the current Fortnite build, players can only swim underwater in short bursts that shoot them back up to the surface for a speed boost. That animation resembles a dolphin jumping in and out of the water. Prolonged underwater swimming is impossible.

The new animation, found by Twitter user @SkinTrackerCom, shows Fortnite mainstay Jonesy performing a breast stroke.

Another Fortnite data miner, @iFireMonkey, discovered gameplay cues that include a reference to "underwater." These cues are likely to be used in the Astronomical in-game event. Their exact purpose remains unknown.

Underwater swimming could have an effect on how players traverse the game world. As it stands currently, swimming is one of the most dangerous ways to travel because swimming players cannot return fire if attacked. Being able to swim underwater might make the endeavor safer, encouraging more players to swim.

The first Astronomical in-game event and concert is scheduled to begin Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.