Fortnite update delayed after mysterious issue with latest patch release

Epic Games said PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch and mobile players will have to wait for last update before Season 8

Fortnite Season 8 is just around the corner but not before the v7.40 patch update (Epic Games)

The latest Fortnite update has been delayed after the creators of the wildly popular game revealed an issue with the v7.40 patch release.

The update was due to be released this week ahead of the widely-anticipated Season 8 of the battle royale sensation.

Delays to the patch will affect all platforms that support Fortnite, including PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC and mobile users.

"Due to a last minute issue we've discovered within the v7.40 release, the update will be delayed," Fortnite tweeted.

"We'll give you an exact time when we lock it down."

The latest update is expected to bring with it a new weapon to the game called an Infantry Rifle.

Fortnite's news feed teased the new gun with a 'Coming Soon' banner, describing a "classic design meets new combat style."

The game's developers also took to Reddit to give a "sneak peek" of the changes coming in the v7.40 update.

Some players may be perplexed to learn that planes will no longer be able to smash through structures, while others will be pleased that some of the most criticised aspects of the game will be addressed.

These include the amount of damage that certain weapons can inflict on other players, with some prominent Fortnite players previously arguing that this meant the game was more swayed towards the luck of finding an item rather than the skill of playing the game.

To address this balance, Epic Games will reduce the structure damage inflicted by the Hand Cannon weapon from 150 to 100, while also increasing the reload time of the rocket launcher from 2.52 seconds to 3.24 seconds.

Other updates include a new prompt that will appear when interacting with a zipline, a decrease in the delay to Turbo Build and the addition of the ability to crouch while in edit mode.

Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, gave no further details were given about the nature of the issue that caused the latest patch to be delayed.

In an announcement made before the news of the delay, Epic gave further details about what v7.40 had in store for Fortnite players.

"It’s been a while since we’ve talked about stats so let's dive right in. In the v7.40 update, we’ll be turning on Stats v2," Epic wrote in a blog post.

"The current stats system database couldn’t scale properly for all platforms so we’re going to upgrade the existing one to include a variety of info and track player progress better over time."

Epic Games was not immediately available for comment on the reason behind the delay.