Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 3 Brings on Fallout, X-Men and Metallica ...

Friday morning ushered in a post-apocalyptic phase for Epic Games' megahit Fortnite. Fortnite: Chapter 5 Season 3 has launched and it includes a crossover with Fallout, the Bethesda game franchise and Amazon Prime TV series.

The new season was partially revealed Thursday with the release of key art for the update. That art included X-Men character Magneto and some Brotherhood of Steel mech suits from Fallout set against a desert car battle that wouldn't be out of place in the new Mad Max: Furiosa movie. (Sadly, that's not one of the crossovers in this update.)   

A trailer released overnight revealed more: A sandstorm takes over the Fortnite island, bringing with it a new biome to the south called "the Wasteland." The trailer included the Metallica track Fuel, and shows some of the game's new characters, including Megalo Don, the Machinist, Brite Raider and Peabody, who looks like an actual peapod. A Wastelander Magneto outfit will be released in July.

Read more: In 2018, I Hated Fortnite: I Was Wrong

Other game updates include Nitro boosts for vehicles, the return of vehicle mods such as grenade launcher turrets and cow catchers (which boost your ramming power); new areas such as Redline Rig, Nitrodome and Brutal Beachhead; and a new crossbow called the Boom Bolt that shoots explosives. Slurp Cactus is available to heal characters, as is Fallout-inspired Nuka-Cola. The update requires the purchase of a season battle pass, which costs about $7.50, or 950 V-Bucks, Fornite's in-game currency. The battle pass lasts until Aug. 16.

A planned collaboration with Disney did not make it into this update.