What is the countdown in Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 8 for? Live Event and Cube Queen Awakening explained

Fortnite is nearing the finale for Chapter 2 Season 8, which also marks the end of Chapter 2 in general. Epic Games decided to forgo seasons nine and X in favor of entering a new chapter, which is sure to bring about a ton of changes to the game. The beginning of Fortnite Chapter 3 was tentatively set for December 5, which is less than two weeks away.

The official countdown timer is now showing up in-game and Epic Games has officially announced the live event, which could be one of the biggest in the game's history. Here's everything players should know about the countdown.

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What is the countdown in Fortnite? Live event confirmed for Chapter 2 Season 8

The countdown timer has just gone live in-game and many players are wondering what the countdown is for. The timer is counting down to the final live event in Chapter 2, which will be in approximately 10 days. This puts the live event on December 4, which is just in time for the beginning of Chapter 3 on December 5.

The live event has been dubbed "The End" by Epic Games. Here's what it had to say:

"With The Convergence complete, The Cube Queen prepares her endgame for the Island and nothing will ever be the same. Grab your weapons and fight the ultimate destroyer of all reality. Join 'The End', a one-time only in-game event and battle for your legacy."

Players will be able to fight off the Cube Queen, who clearly has nefarious plans for the island. Those who do fight back will be rewarded with cosmetics for free, which may be a small consolation if they are unable to defeat her.

While it may seem like the Cube Queen isn't an altogether bigger threat than others the island has faced (aliens, Galactus, among others), she might be the most dangerous. Cubes have been around for a long time in the game, which means that the Cube Queen has been pulling the strings for a while.

The Cube Queen could destroy the entire island. (Image via Epic Games)

Her emergence and "The End" might make for the biggest event in Fortnite history, and it also stands to be one of the most destructive. Players have likely not faced a character of this magnitude, so Fortnite may not even be recognizable after the event.

Players can expect downtime after the event, and there might be a lot of it if the event causes as much destruction as expected.