Fortnite v10.31 patch notes detail mobile's new Party Hub

Another Fortnite patch has landed, and this time around, the update is a bit on the small side. In fact, this week there's no new weapon or item being added to the game, and there aren't any big changes to the map happening either. Though it's a pretty quiet week for Fortnite, mobile users are getting a big new feature called the Party Hub.

Epic describes the Party Hub and its capabilities in an in-depth FAQ on its website today. Essentially, the Party Hub is intended to make it easier for players to form a group with friends before they begin playing. Though it's a mobile-only feature, players can create a party and then begin playing on any platform they. So, if you're away from your computer or console, you can party up and chat with your friends on your phone and then jump into a game when you get home.

You can even use Party Hub to group up with friends while you're waiting for an update to download and install on the mobile version of the game. For now, only voice chat is supported, but Epic says that it plans to add text-based chat as well. Through Party Hub, you can chat with your friends while they're in a game and you aren't, so it could even serve as a replacement for apps like Discord for some players.

There's no way to turn off Party Hub for the moment, but if you want to fly solo, you can lock your party to make it private. Party Hub is a feature that's only available on mobile, and though Epic doesn't say that it's coming to other platforms, it seems like it would be a good feature to have in all versions of Fortnite.

Aside from the Party Hub, this week's patch is pretty sparse, at least as far as battle royale is concerned. The most significant changes involve the final storm circle, which will no longer occur in five different locations: Moisty Palms, Greasy Grove, Tilted Town, Retail Row, and Pressure Plant. You can read more about this week's update in Epic's full patch notes.