Is Ariana Grande Coming to 'Fortnite'? Fans Speculate on Season 7 Lobby Countdown

The leaps that online games have made in recent years are nothing short of astounding. And with a huge base of gamers to keep satisfied and coming back for more, developers are pulling out all the stops by consistently coming up with original content.

Epic Games' Fortnite is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Devs are always teasing new features, additions, and game modes for the ridiculously popular title. Now, after the small v17.21 update that was released on July 27, 2021, users noticed a countdown timer on the game's lobby. But what is it for?

One of the first thoughts that comes to mind is something to do with the ominous alien invasion that's been hyped up in Season 7. The appearance of UFOs and a forthcoming alien invasion has been confirmed by Epic Games.

Said invasion has also set the stage for various other Fortnite events and features, like the fact that there's a heavy dose of DC characters peppered into the game.

Superman basically became Chapter 2 Season 7's main "protagonist" and Epic has also released Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Batman skins for players to enjoy.

The invasion theme, however, seems to be the strongest trend within this Fortnite season, as gameplay has been affected: Players can receive Kymera assists and unlock different alien styles.

There have been plenty of other premonitions about the invasion set to take place on the island. Gamers have encountered alien parasites, abductions, and UFOs throughout Season 7. All of these events are seemingly building anticipation for a full-blown invasion event, which could be what the lobby countdown refers to.

Eagle-eyed Fortnite watchers believe that Coral Castle is going to be the first location on the map to be invaded by the game's extraterrestrial intruders, with Slurpy Swamps and Corny Complex also on the chopping block. You can thank leakers for religiously scanning the game's update code for this information.

Pop culture has often intersected with Fortnite and various in-game events have been hugely successful, not just for the game's bottom line but for those advertising inside the title.

Travis Scott held a virtual concert that had a record-breaking 12.3 million attendee turnout.

So it makes sense that other popular artists would want to capitalize on this kind of exposure and direct audience interaction. Recently, it was rumored that a special Ariana Grande Fortnite skin would be released to commemorate an in-game concert by the pop star.

As of this writing, the timer is set to officially end on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 at 6 p.m. EST. But there's always the possibility that Epic could decide to push the timer back even further to develop whatever it is that they've got planned.

What do you think Fortnite devs have in store for their players? Is the invasion finally upon us? Or will we soon have throngs of Ariana avatars bopping to an in-game virtual concert event?