Fortnite Zero Hour Chapter Finale: Live Countdown, Exact Start Time, and How to Join In-Game

Fortnite is closing the book on Chapter 6 with a live finale that feels like someone dumped every pop-culture toy box on the floor and said: why not all of it. The Zero Hour event throws The Simpsons, Godzilla, King Kong, Star Wars ships, and Kill Bill's The Bride into one giant brawl against the Dark Presence. Peak crossover chaos, in a good way.

'A reckoning is coming. Will you be ready to answer the call?'

The live finale hits Saturday, November 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM ET, and Epic will open the doors 40 minutes early so folks can actually get in before servers buckle. When it wraps, the game goes dark for several hours, then Chapter 7 boots up. Clean break, new chapter, no time to breathe.

When it starts (by region)

• North America: 11 AM PT, 12 PM MT, 1 PM CT, 2 PM ET
• South America: 4 PM BRT
• Europe & UK: 7 PM GMT (United Kingdom), 8 PM CET (Western Europe), 10 PM MSK (Russia)
• Asia: 12:30 AM IST on Nov 30 (India), 3 AM CST / Manila Time on Nov 30 (China / Philippines), 4 AM JST on Nov 30 (Japan)
• Oceania: 6 AM AEDT on Nov 30 (Australia), 8 AM NZDT on Nov 30 (New Zealand)

How to actually get in without getting shut out

Log in early. This is a one-time global broadcast with no replay option, and finale lobbies hit capacity fast. At 1:20 PM ET, the special Zero Hour playlist appears at the top of the Discover tab. Jump in as soon as that lobby opens, stay put, and let matchmaking do its thing. Once you are inside, the game will lock most features so everyone sees the same cinematic and gameplay beats at the same time. If you tried that limited test earlier in the week, this is not that; this is the full, canon version with the proper cinematics and the Chapter 7 handoff baked in.

What happens after the fireworks

As soon as Zero Hour ends, Fortnite goes offline for Chapter 7 maintenance. Epic and reliable trackers expect several hours of downtime, roughly 3 to 8 hours depending on how smoothly the patch and servers roll out. When the lights come back on, Chapter 7 starts immediately.

What Epic is teasing for Chapter 7: UI overhauls and a bunch of quality-of-life fixes, a redesigned island shaped by whatever Zero Hour blows up, familiar lore faces returning (yes, The Seven), vehicles like bikes back in the mix, a Kill Bill collaboration landing early in the season, plus more UI polish and a possible new mechanic: self-revive. That is a lot of knobs to twist at once, which is very Epic of them.

Freebie window you should not miss

Log in anytime from November 27 at 9 AM ET through December 1 at 9 AM ET and you get the Yuki Yubari Outfit, tied to The Lost Chapter: Yuki's Revenge. No hoops to jump through beyond showing up.

Bottom line: if you want to watch Homer Simpson, a couple of kaiju, a Bride with a sword, and some very loud spaceships fight a shadowy cosmic problem, set a reminder, queue early, and clear a little space for downtime before Chapter 7 kicks the door in.