Epic Games has announced the next era of LEGO Fortnite, via its huge Ninjago: Rise of the Ninja update which lands later this week.

Arriving ahead of Ninjago's 15th anniversary next year and in time for LEGO's second anniversary within Fortnite this month, Rise of the Ninja looks to be one of LEGO Fortnite Odyssey's largest ever updates — with a new world to explore, Ninjago weapons to master, and some very familiar faces.

Zane, Jay, Cole and Kai will all arrive in Fortnite, with the latter ninja part of the Ninjago LEGO Pass. All four characters will also get human-like (as in, not LEGO minifigure) versions for the first time, for use in Fortnite's non-LEGO modes.

Players will be able to master elemental abilities by travelling across the game's new Ninjago island and visiting Sanctums to earn ice, lightning and earth powers. It's the latest move away from traditional weapons seen in LEGO Fortnite, following the addition of class-based hero powers a few months ago.

Of course, that's not to say that ninja weapons won't also be included — the update will add nunchucks and shurikens too. And perhaps in good time, as well, since today's LEGO Fortnite trailer, above, also shows the arrival of a huge fire-breathing dragon boss.

Fortnite clearly has big plans for Ninjago, with a second major game update due in 2026 that is expected to also see the arrival of yet more characters, such as Nya, Master Wu, and Lloyd. Until then, this first drop of Ninjago arrives in-game in just a few days, on December 11.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social