Zwift Pulls A Fortnite With Latest World Expansion

Zwift has announced what’s coming up next for its cycling platform, and its world expansion seems to take inspiration from Fortnite.

The next upgrade to the Zwift cycling map happens in November, and it’s part of the Watopia environment rather than adding a new map roughly based on a real-world locale. Rather than simply adding new routes and landmass in an update, Zwift will tease the changes throughout September.

A rock formation will emerge shortly out of the water off Watopia’s shore. It will gradually rise as the next season of the Zwift racing calendar runs on, before finally revealing the track that will be used in Stage 5 of the race event.

ForbesZwift Ride Is A Complete Virtual Cycling Setup For Your HomeBy Andrew Williams

“We are encouraging Zwifters to have their cameras ready at the time the expansion becomes available to them,” says Zwift Lauren Pavlovsky.

“Soon Zwifters will begin to notice these sort of ancient looking structures emerging from the sea. Over time, as we get closer to stage 5, these structures that look like ancient rocks or Stonehenge, will get bigger and bigger. And they’re hiding something, covering something. We’re encouraging Zwifters to put on their best detective hats, and take guesses as to what exactly is underneath.”

The teaser image provides a solid enough clue as to where these roads will sit. Those ancient rocks are poking out of the water by the Watopia volcano. It looks like the roads to the north of the Watopia map will extend out west.

Zwift is being unusually coy about this one, though. It typically lays out any new routes we’ll get in the coming season, and even details on the elevation profile, before release. But we’re just going to have to strap in for the ride on this one, for now.

One other clue is that the next Tour of Watopia is meant to act as a bit of a run through history of the platform, which is now 10 years old. The earlier stages of the race season include some of the very earliest roads mapped onto the game world.

Not all this season’s changes require a wait period. Zwift’s redesigned HUD appears to already be here. It was in place during the ride took part in a few hours before this news broke.

The refreshed HUD has greater customisation, and offers a clearer indication of which exertion zone you’re in. Log in and check it out.