Tuesday 8 June will see the beginning of Fortnite Battle Royale‘s latest season, which will be its seventeenth since the online phenomenon first launched back in 2017.

For the uninitiated, Fortnite is divided into “seasons” of themed content, each of which last for approximately three months. Although the core experience remains largely unaltered by these updates, each one does bring a fresh coat of paint, by incorporating changes to the island, new mechanics, additional character skins, and even limited-time modes that eventually disappear.

For example, the most recent of these events (Chapter 2 Season 6: Primal) was based on a survivalist theme and saw the introduction of roaming wildlife, item crafting and hunting missions.

Fortnite’s developer, Epic Games, have already confirmed on their website that the next season will commence at some point tomorrow, and with its arrival, that the primal event will draw to a close.

This means that players will need to complete any outstanding objectives from Season 6 before the severs are taken down tomorrow morning in order to implement patch 17.00. While it is difficult to predict exactly when this will occur, historically these maintenance periods have been carried out at around 12 a.m. ET.

Although Epic have yet to provide any concrete details on what Chapter 2 Season 7 will entail, they have been dropping some major hints lately. With a tagline of “They’re Coming,” it appears that the update will heavily revolve around an extra-terrestrial plotline.

Fans already suspected as much, following a number of recent teases in the game, including a mysterious crop-circle appearing in the centre of the map, a quest to fix stargazing telescopes that had been tampered with, and instances of some players getting levitated into the sky via an abduction beam.

Elsewhere, Fortnite’s social media presence has also strongly implied that the new season will feature some close encounters of the third kind. A series of tweets have been posted over the last few days, showcasing futuristic weapons that could be on the horizon, as well as a series of indecipherable glyphs and a backdrop that looks suspiciously like the interior of a UFO.

Catalog Entry #437-887

The creatures of the Island seem to use this strange, flimsy holding device to consume their… bone modification liquid?

Fascinating indeed.

Full data upload – 6.8.2021 pic.twitter.com/VJjBro5Jja

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) June 5, 2021

Meanwhile, Epic have put out some clever Alternate Reality Game (ARG) marketing for Season 7, with cryptic posters appearing in real-life locations across the globe and popular influences being sent packages that allude to strange conspiracy theories.

How any of this will manifest in the game itself is unclear right now, but it is reasonable to assume that the new battle pass will include some alien-themed cosmetics and emotes to unlock.

Speaking of which, a loading screen for Season 7 was also recently leaked online, whereupon some eagle-eyed fans spotted a silhouette that bared a striking resemblance to Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, suggesting that he too may also be bundled in with the update.

If the God of Mischief were indeed to appear in the multiplayer game it would make a lot of sense, given that he has a new Disney+ show on the way and Fortnite has already set a precedent for doing similar crossovers with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Either way, there is not long too wait before gamers will find out what is in store.