Look, I'll be honest here for a minute, this whole business is kind of confusing. I spent the better part of the morning debating with our managing editor, Nick Puleo, about whether or not this announcement applied to just the PvP Battle Royale mode (as everything out there is talking about that), or if it also included the co-op Save the World. Fortunately, Nick Chester - PR at Epic and different Nick altogether - clarified that the cross-play and cross-progression (more on that in a second) applies to both modes, thereby saving Nick (Puleo) and I from having to fight to the death to settle things.

The news came via a Dev Diary video last week as Executive Producer Zak Phelps and Creative Director Darren Sugg addressed the feedback they've received about game crashes across all platforms. The most recent series of patches, which have just about dropped daily since last Friday, have all been aimed at fixing those crashes and improving stability. Around the 3:15 mark they bust out the Survival mode news and it definitely sounds promising. The missions I've encountered thus far have largely been a variation of defending a single point for a set period of time, so having something with this sort of unique challenge where players will have to maintain a defense over the course of several in-game days could be fun. No specific dates are given for this big update, but they hope to get it out "end of August/early September."

Fortnite is due out on PS4, Xbox One and PC and is shooter game with a difference; before facing the hordes you need to build your defenses.  How you prepare and work together as a team can make the difference between survival and being zombie chow.

So why was Fortnite on display? Apple announced a new rendering technology called Metal, which will give developers a performance boost on Apple computers and portable devices. Epic announced full support for the API in it's Unreal Engine 4, which powers Fortnite. 

The latest video for this upcoming 4 player online co-op PC title is a meaty Development Diary from the Epic Team behind the game.  At over 50 minutes you get a real insight into how developers decide on concepts such as trap and weapon strength, so that the gameplay remains well balanced.

Monster is probably the most accurate way to describe the Husk, one of the types of creatures you'll encounter during your escapades in Epic Games' Fortnite. It turns out that the game didn't always feature an especially cartoony art style, as the developers originally intended for it to emit a much darker, more serious feeling.  That's enough from me, though, how about you check it out for yourself: