Fortnite’s Winterfest 2025 brings frosty surprises with update 39.11-free gifts return, a magical Harry Potter collaboration stirs excitement, and new quests promise holiday chaos across the island.
However, Winterfest celebrations are the most popular festive updates in Fortnite, where the entire island is covered in snow, Epic grants free cosmetics to players, and there’s a certain festive cheer for Christmas in the game with bright decor and cozy vibes, all in Crackshot’s Cabin.
This year’s Winterfest is no less, as Fortnite has dropped the much-awaited content in today’s update, and if you’re wondering about everything that has arrived, we’ve got the full patch notes for you right here.
Fortnite Winterfest 2025 Update Downtime Details
Fortnite servers go offline for the Winterfest 2025 update 39.11 on December 17 at 3 AM ET, with an expected 4-6 hour window for maintenance. Epic Games plans to roll out free gifts in the Item Shop, a Harry Potter collaboration, and cabin decorations during the holiday event. Players should check official channels for exact times, as delays can occur based on testing needs. Matchmaking stops 30 minutes prior to downtime.
Fortnite Winterfest Update arrives after a brief downtime of 3-4 hours, which commenced at 4 AM ET on December 18, 2025.
Servers are slowly coming live now, and you’ll be able to jump into the game as soon as you update your game. Furthermore, the Winterfest update will wrap up on January 4, 2026.
Fortnite Winterfest Update Today Full Patch Notes for v39.11
The Fortnite Winterfest v39.11 update brings a fresh wave of winter-themed content, including new free gifts, snowy map changes, and returning holiday items. Players can enjoy daily presents packed with cosmetics and festive surprises, along with limited-time modes and challenges that reward bonus XP. The highly anticipated Harry Potter collaboration introduces themed skins, wands, and magical emotes, giving the season a unique twist. Epic Games has also rolled out balance adjustments and bug fixes to improve gameplay performance throughout the event.
Snow Biome Arrives on Chapter 7 Map
The Golden Coast island brought some beachy vibes to Fortnite in Chapter 7; however, now with the latest Winterfest update live in the game, the entire top half of the island is now covered in snow. The new snow biome covers POIs like Tiptop Terrace, Wonkeeland, Latte Landing, Painted Palms, Sandy Strip, and Lethal Labs.
Moreover, Christmas Trees and Presents have now appeared in each of these POIs that players can visit to get some rare loot that they won’t come around easily on the map. Furthermore, Crackshot’s Cabin has now appeared on the island as well, where you can visit and get some rare loot from chests and presents.
Winterfest Lodge Returns with Free Cosmetics
Like every Fortnite Winterfest, the 2025 edition also brought back the Lodge. Lt. Winter arrives with 14 presents to open this year! You can open one present each day. Unwrap the Glacial Dummy Outfit after you’ve opened seven other presents, and the Cheeks Outfit after you’ve opened 13. You can open the rest of the presents in any order you’d prefer. The cabin refreshes daily at 9 AM ET.
Santa ‘Brina, Snow Miku, and More Winter Skins Bring the Cheer
The latest Winterfest update has also brought numerous new skins and collabs to the game. The first crossover is Harry Potter, where the collab brings 10 skins, two back blings, and two pickaxes to the game, alongside a couple of emotes as well. The full crossover is expected to go live anytime soon.
Next up is a Christmas-themed version of pop singer Sabrina Carpenter called Santa ‘Brina, which will be released this week in the Item Shop as well. Then, another pop sensation, Hatsune Miku, returns to Fortnite with a winter-themed Snow Miku outfit, which will be released in the coming days when fans will be able to get her full cosmetic set.
Three new original skins, The Winterfest Bandit, Chilly, and Alpine Lexa, will also be introduced to the Item Shop to add some of that winter cheer among loopers. Apart from the skins, three new Sidekicks have also been decrypted, for Kitsune, Meowscles, and Llama, which will be released in the Item Shop as well.
Bleach Mythics Hit Blitz
The latest update has also added files for the upcoming Bleach crossover in Fortnite, which will bring four skins and more cosmetic items to the shop. Furthermore, two mythic items, namely Fully-Hollowfied Ichigo Mask and Dual Zangetsu, will be added to Blitz mode when the collab goes live this weekend.
New Rift Anomalies
Two new Rift Anomalies have been added to Fortnite Battle Royale and Zero Build with the latest update. They are:
- Winter Ball: Hide in Winter Bubble Shields found across the map to heal.
- Back to the OG: Loot special chests to get OG weapons that have spawned on the map (Weapons granted: Pump Shotgun, Assault Rifle, Hunting Rifle, Drum Gun, Compact SMG, Minigun, and Six Shooter)
Yule Trooper Boss Added
The Yule Trooper boss can now be found on the Snow Biome on the Fortnite Chapter 7 island, and like any other boss, when defeated, drops a medallion and mythic weapon that players can claim to become the boss themselves. Yule Trooper’s medallion’s description is as follows: “Yule Trooper’s Jolly spirit grants increased stamina and vitality. Embrace the cold and slide around the battlefield.”
Drive a DeLorean and Go Back to the OG
Finally, one of the biggest additions to the game, the DeLorean mythic vehicle from Back to the Future, is now available on the Battle Royale island, and players will be able to find it across the map. If you’re not able to find one, grab a Mr Fusion Vehicle Mod and throw it at a vehicle you’re driving to convert it into the DeLorean. Once done, drive it on a straight road and boost to enter the time warp and come out of the loop with a Plutonium Chest on its roof.
Then, interact with the chest to grab some OG loot that you can also get from the Back to the OG rift anomaly.
More Loot Pool Changes
As temperatures drop across the Golden Coast, winter-themed unvaults have made their way back to the island:
- Blizzard Grenade
- Snowball Launcher
- Sneaky Snowman
- Presents
Inside Presents throwables this year, you can find classic, high-rarity loot, including the:
- Drum Gun
- Six Shooter
- Hunting Rifle
- Compact SMG
- OG Pump Shotgun
- Infantry Rifle
- Lever Action
- OG Assault Rifle
- Minigun
How do I open all 14 Winterfest presents fast
There is no legitimate way to open all 14 Winterfest 2025 presents instantly; the event is hard-limited to one present per day, and presents do not stack this year, so you must log in daily if you want everything. Glitch or “early open” videos rely on bugs that Epic patches quickly and can risk your account, so the only reliable method is to maximize logins and avoid missed days.
How the 14 presents work
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Winterfest 2025 gives 14 presents and runs for more than 14 days, but you can only open one present per account per day in the Lodge.
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If you skip a day, you do not gain an extra “stored” present; the counter simply progresses and you fall behind, which is why creators stress logging in every single day.
Fastest legitimate strategy
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Log in once per day (even on busy days) just long enough to enter the Winterfest Lodge and open a gift; this takes under a minute on most platforms.
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Prioritize the presents that contain skins and high-value cosmetics first by following a present-location guide, so the most valuable rewards are unlocked in your earliest daily opens.
If you miss days
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You can still open presents on later days as long as Winterfest is active, but because presents do not stack, missing several days can mean you may not reach all 14 before the event ends.
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Check community posts and official announcements near the end of the event, as Epic sometimes extends Winterfest or grants a final “bonus” item if there were issues, but that is not guaranteed.
Why to avoid “glitch” methods
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Many “open all presents early” videos are just clickbait or show bugs that worked only on the first day and were later fixed, so copying them usually wastes time.
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Using third-party tools, modified clients, or account-sharing to force early openings can violate Epic’s terms and risk suspensions, which is not worth a few cosmetic items.
Which presents give the best skins to prioritize
The only two actual Winterfest 2025 “skin presents” in the Lodge are the ones that unlock Glacial Dummy and Cheeks, and you cannot shortcut to them; they unlock after opening 7 and 13 other presents respectively.
Which presents contain skins
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Glacial Dummy comes from the tall left-side present with a white ribbon, but it only becomes openable after you have opened seven other gifts.
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Cheeks (the festive hamster outfit) is in another tall left-side present with a white ribbon and is locked until you have opened 13 other gifts, making it effectively your last reward.
How to prioritize for “best” skins
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Since both outfits are hard-locked behind a gift count, the fastest way to reach them is simply to open any non-music, non-wrap cosmetic you like each day so you hit 7 and then 13 total as early as possible.
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Many players still treat the Glacial Dummy box as the top priority “goal” present, then work toward Cheeks last, because those are the only free Winterfest Lodge skins; other Winterfest-branded skins like Santa ‘Brina or Winter Miku come from the shop or bundles, not from presents.
