Fortnite's Exclusive Battle Pass Unlocks Will Now Appear In The Shop After 18 Months

Highlights

Epic has announced that it’s making some big changes to how battle passes work in Fortnite.
Any items that are featured in future battle passes now have the chance of popping up in the Item Shop after 18 months.
That seemingly doesn’t apply to old battle passes, but it does mean that anything offered from now on might eventually be purchasable.

Epic Games has announced a massive change to how battle passes work in Fortnite, as exclusive unlocks from future passes will now appear in the Item Shop after 18 months.

Since Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode was introduced in 2017, one of the biggest influences that the game has had on the industry as a whole is with its battle pass. While battle passes did exist before Fortnite, the popularity of Epic’s version meant that pretty much every game following Fortnite started toying with the concept of players paying for a new pass every season for the promise of exclusive items.

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In the years following Fortnite’s climb to the top of the free-to-play mountain, players have had some issues with how many cool skins like Deadpool, Spider-Man, Superman, and more were locked behind old Battle Passes that were no longer accessible. It’s been one of the biggest complaints towards the game recently, and it looks like Epic is finally doing something about it.

Fortnite Is Making A Big Change To How Battle Passes Work

Earlier today, Epic Games published a new post on the official Fortnite website that confirmed that big changes are coming to how battle passes handle item exclusivity. According to the blog, any item that’s featured in a future battle pass “might” become available for purchase in Fortnite’s item shop 18 or more months after the pass expires.

“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.”

This essentially means that any item that is included in a battle pass from here on out might become available as a regular purchase in Fortnite’s Item Shop. If you miss out on an item or have started playing Fortnite after a season has been and gone, there’s a chance that its rewards will be made available for purchase more than a year after the pass has expired.

Epic notes that any item from a battle pass could potentially be added to the Item Shop, but that it doesn’t mean that every unlock will be made available. This is “dependent on a variety of factors” and something that Epic says it will communicate with players whenever possible. It’s also worth noting that this seems to only apply to future battle passes right now, so don’t expect anything from the last few Chapters to pop up.