Epic Games is making a big change to its Fortnite rewards moving forward. Skins that used to be earned exclusively from battle passes will now have a chance to show up on the Item Shop years later.
Under the current system, sought-after rewards unlocked through time-limited battle passes (like this season’s Fallout armor) can only be earned by playing during a specific period of time. Once the battle pass is gone, so are all of the unique skins, many of which are licensed from famous franchises from Star Wars to Dragon Ball Z. Not anymore.
An announcement over on the Fortnite website outlines changes moving forward that will bring some battle pass rewards to the Item Shop with at least an 18 month delay. Here’s how Epic describes the shift:
Items in future Fortnite Battle Passes might be offered for purchase in the Fortnite Shop after 18 or more months from the Battle Pass’ expiration. A Battle Pass item may include a different number of its alt Styles each time it comes to the Shop.
This change lets us continue investing in new and exciting Battle Pass rewards while enabling players down the road to also enjoy the content, including Outfits based on popular licensed characters.
The “might” there means that Epic isn’t guaranteeing that every item will eventually be resold, preserving the current incentive to unlock it from the battle pass. This change also only applies to rewards moving forward. So old skins from John Wick, Spider-Man, and more will remain locked for anyone who didn’t already earn them and doesn’t have a time machine. The total number of alt styles available on skins if and when they’re resold will also vary, except for Lego versions which will always be included by default.
This is essentially Epic giving players 18 month advance warning that anything they unlock in a battle pass moving forward might show up on an opponent who is just able to buy it from the store. That will no doubt ruffle some feathers who feel a sense of “you had to be there” is an important element of Fortnite’s social contract. Other players will probably wish this change was retroactive so they had a shot at buying past costumes they missed out on.