Fortnite (partially found unreleased/lost builds of the massively multiplayer online game; 2011-present)
Image of Fortnite from 2012-2013.
Status: Partially found
The Online Tests:
The Online Tests versions are the oldest versions of Fortnite. In order to participate in one, you had to receive an invitation. The players who participated in these versions received exclusive banners within the game. In addition, many players have confirmed that they had direct contact with the developers to give them feedback. Currently, only version 6.5 has been fully recovered[1] and version 10 partially (this is located inside the O.T. 6.5 archives folder).
There were 11 Online Tests (the exact amount with the extra versions is 20). Playing an O.T. was completely free, but you had to have a code or an invitation to play them. They were designed in Unreal Engine 4 and some in Unreal Engine 3 .
One of the reasons why many players want to find these versions is because they contain a lot of information about the game that has never seen the light of day. For example, in version 6.5 a discarded enemy called "Werewolf"[2] was discovered that would appear in the "Fortnitemares" event.
The non-public versions:
The game obviously had non-public versions (the amount is unknown) that only the workers of Epic Games (the company that created the video game) have. One of the few images of this version is this one that was seen at the 2013 Game Developers Conference. The design is very similar to the "final" version of the first Online Test of the game, they were designed in Unreal Engine 3.
Update July 2022:
Some time ago one of the private builds of Epic Games was discovered, the build is exactly the "Project Fortress", it was obtained by a data breach of Epic Games a few years ago, but no one had released information about this build until now, it contains lots of information about the game, including the original story of the game.
The original story of the game:
In this build, Limbo's home to the mist creatures. Players could enter under certain conditions. Rare minable resources abound! A giant center obelisk fuels the gate to Earth. Closing the gate's the endgame.
The Strongholds:
These great structures were called Strongholds. Strongholds were massive mist monster fortresses that represented one of the major challenges for players to work towards conquering. Players who managed to retake all 3 Strongholds in the game world would "beat" the game.
Conclusion:
Maybe in this version of the game there would’ve been a normal and good ending where the normal ending is to destroy the strongholds and the good ending is where you destroy the limbo gateway.
More info will be added over time.
| Version name
(Not In Real Life Test) |
Engine version | Build date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Fortress | 3.9.8-1298812 (Probably) | 2012-06-03 | Found (Private) |
| There are more builds but the exact or approximate amount of them is not known | |||
The original Fortnite PvP mode:
Something that should be emphasized is that in these versions there was no "Battle Royale" mode, so everything was about the original game mode called "Save The World" (Funfact: in these versions, a PvP mode was being planned that would become closest to what Battle Royale is now, and some tests were done with players[3][4]).
The search to find the Online Tests:
Finding the Online Test 6.5 (discovered in 2021) was pure luck, because the vast majority of users who played in the Online Tests have not saved images, videos and files of the versions. That is why it is very difficult to find someone that still has Online Test files. People have tried to contact users with the role "Alpha Explorers" on the official Fortnite Discord server, but all have already said that they no longer have any files from any Online Test.
There is little knowledge of these versions and little information on the internet because Epic Games was very strict about sharing photos and videos, including making streams showing the game, since it was, as indicated in the Online Test 6.5, a, "Top Secret Alpha Test!!"
| Version name
(In Real Life Test) |
Engine version | Build release date | Build end date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online Test 1[5] | Unknown | 2014-12-02 | 2014-12-19[6] | Lost |
| Online Test 2[7] | Unknown | 2015-03-24 | 2015-04-14[8] | Lost |
| Online Test 3[9] | 4.8.0-2604755 | 2015-06-29 | 2015-07-21[10] | Lost |
| Online Test 4[11] | 4.9.0-2671876 | 2015-08-24 | Unknown | Lost |
| Online Test 5[12] | 4.9.0-2682676 | 2015-09-29 | 2015-11-10 | Lost |
| Online Test 5.5[13] | 4.9.0-2760281 | 2015-11-10 | Unknown | Lost |
| Online Test 6[14] | 4.11.0-2801990 | 2015-12-15 | 2016-02-28 | Lost |
| Online Test 6.5[15] | 4.12.0-2870186 | 2016-02-28 | 2016-03-01 | Found (PC) |
| Online Test 6.6[16] | Unknown | 2016-03-01 | 2016-03-22 | Lost |
| Online Test 6.7[17] | 4.12.0-2919741 | 2016-03-22 | Unknown | Lost |
| Online Test 7[18] | 4.12.0-3012530 | 2016-06-14 | Unknown | Lost |
| Online Test 8[19] | 4.13.0-3062755 | 2016-07-25 | 2016-09-06 | Lost |
| Online Test 8.1[20] | Unknown | 2016-09-06 | 2016-09-28 | Lost |
| Online Test 8.2[21] | 4.13.0-3114236 | 2016-09-28 | Unknown | Lost |
| Online Test 9[22] | 4.14.0-3151232 | 2016-10-19 | 2016-11-08[23] | Lost |
| Online Test 10[24] | Unknown | 2016-12-22 | Unknown | Partially found (PC) |
| Online Test 10.1[25] | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Lost |
| Online Test 11[26] | 4.16.0-3472679 | Unknown | 2017-06-22 | Found (PS4) |
| Online Test 11.0.5[27] | Unknown | 2017-06-22 | 2017-07-07 | Lost |
| Online Test 11.1.0[28] | Unknown | 2017-07-07 | 2017-07-15 | Lost |
Videos:
References:
- ↑ https://github.com/notsamicc/Fortnite-Builds
- ↑ https://twitter.com/XylicSTW/status/1416343323330088960
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20160402082202/https://www.fortnite.com/blog/first-pvp-test
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20160402032525/https://www.fortnite.com/blog/pvp-test-two
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170606013540/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/alpha-is-here
- ↑ https://www.polygon.com/2014/12/1/7316937/fortnite-alpha-sign-ups-epic-games
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbVprGIfMO0&t
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/FORTnITE/comments/2zhnme/fortnite_alpha_online_test_2_giveaway/
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013054339/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot3-release-notes
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/FORTnITE/comments/3bin63/fortnite_alpha_online_test_3_giveaway/
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013072948/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot4-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013051645/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot5-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170606013540/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/ot55-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013072932/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot6-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170606013540/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot65-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013015856/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot66-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013012704/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot67-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013072941/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot7-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013133127/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot8-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161011204754/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot81-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161011224957/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot82-release-notes
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170115230705/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot9-release-notes
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170115230705/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot9-release-notes
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170128213638/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170209023107/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/
- ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170524052603/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/
- ↑ https://imgur.com/a/bf21VoO
- ↑ https://imgur.com/a/77WIzjY