New Fortnite ads suggest One Piece may not arrive next season

With the end of Chapter 7 Season 4 approaching, rumors had spread about the theme of the upcoming Fortnite mini-season. The beloved manga and anime series One Piece was the most popular contender, especially after a mysterious pirate chest appeared on the island. Epic Games has begun putting up promotional posters, and the design suggests the mini-season may have a generic anime theme rather than being an exclusive One Piece crossover.

Fortnite is celebrating Halloween throughout October. The Fortnitemares event will end in the early hours of Nov. 1, alongside Chapter 7 Season 4. That will make way for the annual mini-season, which will allow players to transition smoothly into Chapter 8.

With Nov. 1 approaching, teasers for the upcoming mini-season have started. A giant pirate treasure chest was added to the island, and it began to debug over the past few days, slowly unveiling its appearance. One Piece was already speculated to be the mini-season's theme, and this fueled fans' hopes further. Not all teasers were virtual, though. Fortnite posters began appearing on the subway in Madrid as early as Oct. 20. However, they weren't what players expected.

Fortnite teases upcoming mini-season with posters in Madrid

The Fortnite posters in Madrid feature what appear to be generic, cel-shaded anime-style skins created by Epic Games. The first poster depicts a black-haired anime character and a treasure map with the caption "Have you seen the treasure?" The second poster shows a turquoise-haired anime character, previously spotted in a skin survey, before cutting off to an image of sand with the words "Join the hunt." Both posters include Fortnite's pirate llama logo.

The fact that the posters don't show any recognizable One Piece characters isn't a good sign for fans who were hoping to see Eiichiro Oda's best-selling series come to Fortnite. Although there's still a chance a collaboration could still be happening, it's less likely this will be a full crossover season. Similar to Chapter 1 Season 8, which had the slogan "X marks the spot," this may just be a pirate season.

Many fans would consider this a step down from last year's mini-season, which was a major Simpsons event featuring a map of Springfield and numerous themed cosmetics and weapons, but there is still hope that One Piece will appear in the game.