Cubed
Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 8
Season overview
Corruption and Cubes
Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 8, titled "Cubed," launched on September 13, 2021. Following the destruction of the alien Mothership in the previous season, thousands of mysterious purple "Kevin" Cubes crashed onto the island. Commanded by a unique Golden Cube, these entities slowly rolled across the map, spreading corruption and eventually converging at the center to form a massive pyramid. This season introduced "The Sideways," a dark, alternate dimension swarming with hostile Cube Monsters. Players could enter Sideways Anomalies or drop into Sideways Zones to fight waves of AI monsters for powerful, exclusive loot. Epic Games also introduced the War Effort, a mechanic where the community collectively donated their Gold Bars at funding stations to unvault classic weapons, deploy mounted turrets, and eventually rebuild B.R.U.T.E. mechs to fight back against the Cubes. The storyline centered on the awakening of the terrifying Cube Queen, who sought to annihilate the island. The season culminated in an epic finale event called "The End." As the Cube Queen opened a massive portal for The Last Reality's fleet, The Foundation arrived to rescue Agent Jones. In a spectacular cinematic moment, the characters literally flipped the entire island upside down, drowning the Queen, burying the Chapter 2 map, and revealing the pristine Artemis island for Chapter 3.
The island evolved
Map & POI Changes
Landmarks, locations and changes that shaped this season.
Mothership crash sites appeared across the map, featuring orange slipstreams for mobility. Over the season, the Cubes rolled toward The Aftermath (center of the map) and slowly built The Convergence, a massive cube city that ultimately transformed into The Pyramid. Sludgy Swamp and Corny Crops were heavily altered.
How it played
Gameplay & Mechanics
The Sideways dimension was the primary mechanic, appearing as massive domes over POIs or as rift-like Anomalies that forced players to fight waves of Cube Monsters in low gravity with no building allowed. The War Effort allowed players to spend Gold Bars at Donation Boards to fund turrets or vote on which weapons to unvault.
The season's arsenal
Weapons & Items
Season notes and items
Sideways Weapons (the Sideways Rifle and Sideways Minigun) were introduced and could be upgraded using Cube Monster Parts gathered in The Sideways. The Combat Assault Rifle and Combat SMG were added via the War Effort. Marvel's Venom and Carnage Symbiote mythics were also temporarily available, granting massive mobility and the ability to grab enemies through walls.
Season rewards
Battle Pass
The 100-tier Battle Pass featured Charlotte (Tier 1), the highly customizable Toona Fish (which required finding Color Bottles across the map), Kor, Fabio Sparklemane (a humanoid unicorn), J.B. Chimpanski, Torin, and Marvel's Carnage (Tier 100). The secret unlockable skin was the season's main antagonist, The Cube Queen.
Across worlds
Major Collaborations
Marvel (Carnage in the Battle Pass, Venom items). Naruto was also introduced late in the season via the Item Shop, marking Fortnite's first major anime collaboration.
Watch the season
Trailers & Videos
Official Season Trailer
official
The final act
Live Event / Finale
The End Event (Chapter 2 Finale). On December 4, 2021, players defended The Fort from the Cube Queen's forces. When overrun, a cutscene played showing The Foundation rescuing Agent Jones from the IO. The island was destabilized and physically flipped completely upside down, defeating the Queen and revealing the Chapter 3 island hidden underneath.
Research record
Sources & verification
References used to maintain this season record. External information can change after publication.
Reviewed by JayaLakshmi for FUNAGLET · Updated Sep 25, 2026