Fortnite 15.10 patch notes: Operation: Snowdown & Cowboy Repeater Rifle

Matt Porter
Fortnite's Snowmando for Operation: Snowdown.

Fortnite’s final update of 2020 is here in the form of the v15.10 update, introducing Operation: Snowdown and the new Cowboy Repeater Rifle for players on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

2020 has been another huge year for Fortnite, and with the festive season in full swing, Epic Games have released their annual Christmas event, this year titled ‘Operation: Snowdown,’ full of free cosmetics and quests.

On top of that, there are two new weapons for players to use, a new character who plans to bring some icy items to the game, and some new options to help performance and quality of life. Here’s everything you need to know about December 15’s v15.10 patch.

Operation: Snowdown

Fortnite players are accustomed to special Christmas-themed events that act as the final event of the year, and 2020 is no different. Winterfest doesn’t return this year, but Snowmando has their own event this time, with Operation: Snowdown carrying players through to the new year.

As always, there will be new Quests for players to take on, with some free snowy cosmetics and two exclusive Outfits for up grabs. On top of that, there will be new chilling items located around the map, and the return of fan-favorite Limited-Time Modes.

Fortnite's Snowmando skin.

Cowboy Repeater Rifle & Dragon’s Breath Sniper

Along with Operation: Snowdown, there are also two new weapons for players to wield. Mancake’s Cowboy Repeater Rifle will be available as floor loot around the island, with Epic Games stating that it “combines a rapid shooting style with dead-eye accuracy.”

The Dragon’s Breath Sniper is an exotic weapon available to purchase from Blaze. With the Dragon’s Breath weapons setting players on fire, there will be a new character introduced who will have their own winter-themed items to cool things down.

Fortnite's Mancake in Season 5.

Performance Updates

15.10 is also a big update for those playing on next-gen consoles, introducing the new ‘120 FPS Mode’ for a high frame-rate experience. Epic have confirmed that the resolution display will be capped at 1440p on PS5 and Xbox Series X, and 1080p on Xbox Series S.

The developers have also taken on board feedback from the community, and added an option to toggle Pre-Edits on or off. In the off state, new builds will always appear “in their default, unedited state” when placing them.

Bug Fixes

As always, there are also a host of bug fixes designed to address glitches and improve quality of life for players. This week, there are a number of bug fixes confirmed to be included in the update on the official Trello board.

You can read the full list of fixes below.

General

  • High sensitivity/acceleration on Xbox consoles when using keyboard and mouse.
  • Multiple actions’ names are missing from the Custom Controller settings.

Fortnite Crew

  • “There was a problem” error when joining Fortnite Crew on PlayStation.
  • Fortnite Crew button missing on PlayStation after joining.
  • Incorrect message when cancelling Fortnite Crew on a different platform.
  • Fortnite Crew “time remaining” timer may appear off by a day.

Battle Royale

  • Quests wrongly marked as “New.”
  • Big Chuggus’ Character Collection tab lists an extra third location.
  • Fishing Collection Book leaderboard and friend progress not visible.
  • Widow’s Light Back Bling not visible on PC with Effects set to Low.
  • Certain NPCs are granting Storm Surge credit when damaged in Arena.
  • Total Bars may rarely appear as “0” in a match.
  • Rebooted players may see an already completed Bounty.
  • Matchmaking doesn’t start if unreadied player leaves early.

Image Credits: Epic Games