Simpsons Fortnite live event start time, downtime maintenance timings and gameplay preview

It's an exciting time to be a Fortnite fan, because Epic Games is about to bring The Simpsons to the Battle Royale Island.

It all begins with the launch of an end of season event, which has a November 1 release date and a 3pm GMT UK start time.

The Welcome to Our Alien Overlords event will see Kang and Kodos infiltrate the Island. The news was announced by Epic Games on X.

"Attention puny earthlings! Our Alien Overlords have a message for us and you are commanded to drop in before 11AM ET on November 1. You dare not miss it."

Epic Games has also posted a gameplay preview for the new Fortnite Season on .

According to Epic Games, the servers will go down for the launch of the next season immediately following the event.

This means that at 3.30pm GMT UK time, Fortnite will be taken offline for server maintenance. Be warned, this means you won't be able to play.

The Simpsons mini-season will launch later today, potentially after five hours according to the Server Status page.

Epic Games has also posted a warning to content creators, explaining that video on demand content can feature music from the event until November 8.

"Content Creators in SAC can monetise YouTube VoD content featuring music from the Our Alien Overlords live event happening tomorrow, November 1 at 11am ET until November 8, 11am ET. No copyright claims or takedown notifications should occur on these videos during that timeframe.

"Make sure your YouTube and SAC accounts are linked and any content featuring this is Unlisted or Public. If you upload it as Private, it's possible you could receive a monetisation claim on your video. If you do receive a claim, please don't contest it as our teams will try to reverse it asap."

In terms of what fans can expect from the new season, the island will be transformed into Springfield from The Simpsons.

The island will take on a cartoonish visual style from the TV show, which is a nice touch that should prove popular.

Points of interest will include Evergreen Terrace and the Nuclear Power Plant. Expect lots of other Easter eggs.

The Battle Pass, meanwhile, will feature a selection of Simpsons skins and items.

According to insider Shiina, the Battle Pass contains Marge and Peels Sidekick, Witch Marge, Blinky Fishstick, Hazardous Blinky Fishstick, Ned Flanders, Stupid Sexy Flanders and Homer Simpson.

Other characters will be available to purchase through the item shop.