'Fortnite's' New Year's Eve surprise confused so many players that the cofounder of Epic Games weighed in with a crack about time zones

Fortnite New Years

"Fortnite" is the world's most popular game, with 80 million players spread across the globe.
"Fortnite" will feature a ball drop and fireworks at the top of every hour as the New Year reaches all 24 time zones.
However, as the celebration began on New Year's Eve in some time zones, players rushed to social media to report that the New Year had arrived early in "Fortnite," prompting a response from the game's creators.

"Fortnite" has become well known for its special in-game events, many of which coincide with real world holidays. So of course the game has its own New Year's event going on, complete with a ball drop and fireworks for when the clock strikes midnight.

But "Fortnite" has a global player base with more than 200 million players worldwide; meaning that players in different time zones will see the new year at different times. "Fortnite" creator Epic Games came up with a simple solution, the New Year's ball in "Fortnite" will drop at the top of every hour to account for midnight in all 24 time zones around the world.

However, some players who spent the early hours of New Year's Eve playing "Fortnite" were shocked to see the fireworks arrive early for their own time zone. When the ball drops in "Fortnite" players are forced to dance for a few seconds, making the moment impossible to ignore. Several players rushed to social media to announce that "Fortnite's" New Year celebration had gone off early.

A NEW YEARS EVENT ALREADY?

HAPPY EARLY NEW YEARS I GUESS LMAOOO pic.twitter.com/Jwmu1W1klP
— FaZe Thiefs (@Thiefs) December 31, 2018

An honest mistake to be sure, but the "Fortnite" community has surged with responses to the "early" event, prompting a response from Epic Games. Co-founder and Vice-President Mark Rein gently chided players who believed the event had been triggered early in error.

"Is it that you don’t really understand how timezones work or you think yours is the only timezone in the world?" Rein tweeted.

Epic spokesman Nick Chester and Rein both later confirmed that the event would occur every hour to account for every time zone.

Woke up to learn that many Fortnite players are unaware of time zones. We’re an educational and international game.

Happy New Year to you if you’re already in 2019! https://t.co/CnqzyXfFE5
— Nick Chester (@nickchester) December 31, 2018