Fortnite's 9th birthday event unvaults Balloons and runs until October 1

Fortnite's annual birthday event is live, marking the game's ninth year with a questline, free rewards and a set of items returned to the loot pool, Esports.gg reported. The event runs until October 1, 2026.

Epic Games dates the anniversary to September 26. The game first launched in July 2017, but the Battle Royale mode went live to the public on September 26 of that year, and Epic treats that as the birthday.

Three items have been unvaulted for the celebration: Birthday Presents, the Firework Flare Gun and Balloons. All three stay in the loot pool until the event ends on October 1. Esports.gg reported that a Birthday Sprite is expected to arrive on September 26, attributing that to reports rather than to Epic.

Quests and free rewards

Esports.gg described this year's celebration as following the same pattern as previous years, with both the unvaulted items and the questline returning fixtures of the anniversary.

The 9th Birthday questline pays experience alongside three cosmetics, each gated behind a number of completed quests rather than behind a purchase. The rewards arrive at three, six and nine completed quests.

The nine quests themselves are a mix of routine combat objectives and event-specific tasks. Two of them point players at the returned items, asking them to throw Birthday Presents and to deploy Balloons. Others are standard battle royale fare: dancing, hitting headshots, eliminating opponents while aiming down sights, and searching containers. Two more send players around the map, to eat slices of Birthday Cake found at Named Locations and to visit different Named Locations, and the last asks players to wish the Bus Driver a happy birthday.

Esports.gg also reported a code, 9YEARS, that activates the game's Lobby Hack and grants the 9th Birthday Spray at no cost.