Fortnite is doing Christmas presents again in 2025. Winterfest is back, the cabin is returning, and players will be able to log in and unwrap a new free cosmetic every day.
Fortnite Winterfest 2025 start date and timing
Epic has confirmed that Winterfest 2025 starts on Thursday, December 18, 2025. The update is expected to roll out in the morning in North America and midday in Europe, following the usual pattern of a few hours of server downtime while the patch is deployed.
A rough regional breakdown for when the Winterfest update should go live:
| Region | Approximate local time | Date |
|---|---|---|
| North America (PT) | 4:00 AM | Thursday, December 18 |
| North America (ET) | 7:00 AM | Thursday, December 18 |
| United Kingdom (GMT) | 12:00 PM | Thursday, December 18 |
| Europe (CET) | 1:00 PM | Thursday, December 18 |
| Brazil (BRT) | 9:00 AM | Thursday, December 18 |
| Japan (JST) | 9:00 PM | Thursday, December 18 |
| Australia (AEST) | 10:00 PM | Thursday, December 18 |
These times are estimates. Epic often shifts exact update timing, so you may see the event appear slightly earlier or later in your region.
Yes, Winterfest presents and the cabin are returning
The short answer to whether Fortnite is “doing the Christmas presents” in 2025 is yes. Winterfest is once again built around a virtual Advent calendar that lives inside the returning Winterfest cabin.
The teaser for this year’s event shows the familiar cosy lodge scene: a roaring fireplace, decorated tree, stockings on the mantle, and wrapped gifts scattered around. That confirms a few core mechanics are back:
- Daily presents: log in each day during Winterfest to open one present and claim a free cosmetic.
- Make-up days: as in previous years, unclaimed presents can usually be opened later in the event, so missing a single day doesn’t necessarily cost a reward.
- Ambient cabin “lobby”: the cabin doubles as an idle screen with small interactive elements and Easter eggs to click on while you wait for friends to queue up.
Rewards in the presents pool include a mix of player skins, back bling, wraps, gliders, harvesting tools, emotes, and loading screens. Not every gift is a skin, but at least a couple of outfits are typically tucked into the calendar.
How the Winterfest 2025 presents work
The flow for claiming free cosmetics is straightforward once the event is live.
Step 1: Launch Fortnite after the Winterfest 2025 update has gone live on December 18 and sign in with your Epic Games account.
Step 2: From the main Battle Royale or lobby screen, look for the Winterfest entry point (usually a snowflake icon or a banner) that takes you into the Winterfest cabin.
Step 3: Inside the cabin, move your cursor or controller focus over the wrapped gifts. Select one eligible present and confirm to open it. The contents are then added to your locker.
Step 4: Repeat the process on subsequent days. Each day typically unlocks one more present slot until you’ve opened the full set for this year’s event.
Winterfest 2025 is expected to run from December 18 until early January, in line with previous years that wrapped around January 10. That gives you plenty of time to log in, open gifts, and clean up any remaining presents before the cabin disappears again.
Confirmed and likely free rewards in Winterfest 2025
The exact contents of every present are not fully detailed yet, but several themes and tentpole cosmetics have been signposted.
Harry Potter integration is the headline. The Winterfest teaser shows four Christmas stockings hanging above the cabin fireplace, each styled after a Hogwarts House. Separately, Epic has already announced a broader Harry Potter collaboration landing in December across Fortnite and other games in its ecosystem. That cross-promotion points toward at least one Harry Potter–themed cosmetic being free through Winterfest, while additional house-customizable outfits will rotate through the item shop.
Creators and leakers also expect Winter-themed variants for recent musical Icon Series characters. A Christmas version of Sabrina Carpenter and a Winter Hatsune Miku skin have both been referenced as part of the Winterfest lineup. Those skins are likely split between free presents and item shop offerings, with at least one of them positioned as a marquee seasonal reward.
Beyond those collaborations, Epic is loading the calendar with more conventional holiday cosmetics: new Christmas outfits pulled from recent skin surveys, themed back bling, weapon wraps, pickaxes, and gliders. All of these follow the same pattern: one per day, claimed directly from the cabin without spending V-Bucks.
The Winterfest 2025 Advent calendar structure
Winterfest continues to operate as a digital Advent calendar layered on top of the standard Battle Royale progression. You don’t need the seasonal battle pass to take part, and you don’t lose experience or paid rewards by focusing on Winterfest for a few weeks.
The structure is simple:
- One free gift per day: logging in and entering the cabin unlocks a daily present to open.
- Catch-up flexibility: if you miss a login, you can typically open multiple gifts on a later date until the total number of presents is exhausted.
- Cosmetics only: presents grant visual items and do not provide competitive advantages. They carry over into future seasons like any other cosmetic in your locker.
Because presents are account-wide, you only need to claim them once, regardless of platform. A skin unlocked on console will be waiting for you on PC or mobile as long as you use the same Epic account.
How to grab the first free Winterfest 2025 reward now
Epic has already pushed out an early free cosmetic tied to Winterfest 2025: the Holiday Paw weapon wrap. This reward is claimed through the Epic Games Store rather than the in-game cabin.
Step 1: On a PC, open the Epic Games Launcher and sign into your account.
Step 2: Use the store search bar to find the “Fortnite Holiday Paw Wrap” listing.
Step 3: Open the listing page and click to purchase. The price is set to zero, so it will check out as a free item and tie directly to your Fortnite account.
Step 4: Relaunch Fortnite. The Holiday Paw wrap should appear in your locker under wraps, ready to equip on any weapon.
Other Winterfest 2025 events and collaborations around the presents
The Advent calendar is the centerpiece, but Winterfest usually touches most parts of Fortnite’s ecosystem. For 2025, a few extra beats are already in motion around the holiday window.
Bleach x Fortnite has been announced with a release date of December 20, two days into Winterfest. That collaboration brings new anime skins, a Jam Track, and vehicle cosmetics, and it sits alongside the holiday content rather than inside the presents pool.
Epic is also leaning harder into licensed crossovers for Winterfest. Beyond Harry Potter and the Winter Hatsune Miku skin, players should expect Christmas-themed variants for existing festival and Icon Series skins, daily item shop rotations featuring new winter outfits, and broader map decorations like snow-covered points of interest, Christmas balloons, and holiday props.
On the gameplay side, Epic is experimenting with seasonal touches such as reshaping the storm into a Christmas tree pattern during the holiday window. Those changes don’t affect how matches play in any meaningful way, but they reinforce that Winterfest is more than just a menu screen—it bleeds into regular Battle Royale matches as well.
For anyone wondering whether it’s worth logging back into Fortnite for the holidays, Winterfest 2025 repeats the formula that has made the event a yearly ritual: free cosmetics every day, a chilled-out cabin to idle in, and a couple of high-profile crossovers wrapped up as presents. If you care about cosmetic collections, it’s one of the most generous stretches of the year.
