Epic Games
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Thousands of gamers across the United States were left fuming on Saturday after being locked out of their Epic Games accounts, sparking widespread anger and confusion online.

The outage hit just as the company prepared to roll out its long-awaited Fortnite × The Simpsons update, leading to speculation that Epic's servers had once again buckled under player demand.

By past midnight, the company confirmed that services had been fully restored and the issue resolved.

Server Outage Hits During Fortnite's Biggest Update Yet

Epic Games said Fortnite servers were taken offline for scheduled maintenance tied to its new Version 38.00 update, featuring the much-hyped crossover with The Simpsons.

According to reports from the Hindustan Times, the downtime affected players on all major platforms, including PC, PlayStation and Xbox, with millions unable to log in to the game or the Epic Games Launcher.

The outage could not have come at a worse time. The update introduced a Springfield-inspired map, new character skins and themed challenges, and fans eager to jump in were met with error screens instead.

Epic's official status page listed the downtime as planned maintenance but did not explain why login issues also appeared across the Epic Games Store and Launcher.

Players Vent Frustration as 'Epic Games Down' Trends Online

As login failures spread, the phrase Epic Games down trended on X (formerly Twitter) as thousands of frustrated users shared screenshots showing they could not access their libraries or accounts.

Many players compared the chaos to Fortnite's infamous 2019 'black hole' event, while others joked that the servers had once again been crushed by an influx of global logins.

Social-media tracking sites showed complaints peaking within an hour, with searches for 'is Epic Games servers down' and 'Epic Games launcher status' topping Google trends across the United States.

Confusion Over Launcher Errors and Server Status

While many assumed Epic's servers had crashed, the problem appeared to be more complicated. Players reported encountering the 'AS-3' error code, a launcher-side issue often linked to network configuration failures.

Epic acknowledged the disruption and confirmed that engineers were investigating both the launcher malfunction and connectivity problems affecting Fortnite's servers.

The overlap between the two issues created widespread confusion. Some users managed to access the Epic Games Store intermittently but could not launch Fortnite, while others were completely locked out.

This inconsistent behaviour led to speculation that both systems were under strain as Epic's servers deployed new assets and updates at the same time.

Epic's Response and Gradual Recovery

Epic Games said on its status page that teams were 'actively working to restore stability' and that services would return online in stages. The company promised regular updates as the situation improved.

By late evening, most of Epic's core services, including the store and launcher, were back online, though some users still struggled to sign in. The company did not elaborate on what caused the widespread disruption.

Recurring Outages Raise Reliability Concerns

The latest incident follows a familiar pattern for Epic Games, which has faced repeated outages during major Fortnite events.

With more than 295 million PC users reported in its 2024 Year in Review, the company's rapidly expanding ecosystem appears increasingly vulnerable to traffic surges during high-profile collaborations.

Industry analysts say Epic's growing ambition for large-scale crossover events, such as the Fortnite × The Simpsons update, has placed extra pressure on its server infrastructure.

While planned maintenance is standard practice, the frequency and timing of these breakdowns have angered players who expect smoother performance from one of the world's biggest gaming platforms.

A little past midnight, Epic confirmed that services were 'largely restored' but offered no technical explanation for the failure. As of early November, players continue to monitor the launcher's status closely for any sign of recurring trouble.

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