There was a surprise drop into Fortnite: Battle Royale this afternoon: the limited time 50 vs 50 V2 mode is back, and playable today. 50 vs 50 has always been one of my favourite game modes, and Epic's second iteration made some important changes: each group now has their very own Battle Bus, as well as the last circle is visible on the map to the beginning. It makes for one mad rush into a large-scale melee at the center, and while the matches end in blowouts a bit more frequently than I'd like, they're always a welcome break from the familiar rhythms of regular play. If you want to play 50 vs. 50, simply select it from the manners menu.

Longtime Fortnite gamers -- or actually just anyone who has been with the game a couple of weeks now -- will probably notice a large change for the game as a whole with this inclusion. I suspected it might happen when Epic shifted the "modes" menu into what it seems like today, but this marks the first time that we have two limited time manners running simultaneously. Thanos is in the combination, and at this time, it is somewhat unclear how long he'll stick around.

It is the correct move, in my opinion: limited time modes are among the best things Forntite has going for it, and since additions like Thanos show, they're only getting better. And since there are obviously enough millions of gamers to support matchmaking for five modes across multiple platforms, Epic doesn't actually eliminate anything by giving us a little more flexibility regarding how we'd love to play with Fortnite Items.

I suspect that operating 50 vs. 50 along with Thanos is giving us a small preview of just how this will work going forward. Epic will keep iterating with new, more outlandish notions along the lines of the Infinity Gauntlet mode whilst simultaneously giving us a few of those tried and true modes it's used previously: things like Sniper Shootout, Blitz and Heavy Explosives which, whilst fun, actually only represent slight tweaks to the way the game functions. Running more than one simultaneously makes it possible for the staff to push the boundaries a little bit more.

Meanwhile, I will be attempting to score volatile skills by firing aimlessly into the enemy horde.