The Fortnite item shop has been upgraded with a new cosmetic bundle that is very controversial and will be talked about by the community in the manner different from what developer Epic Games wanted. The bundle includes a pickaxe and a backbling inspired by the already available ‘Cheeks’ hamster skin, but a large number of people do not understand the situation and are asking why the item shop is offering the paid version instead of the Winterfest free version.
To facilitate the discussion, what actually happened? The pickaxe and backbling have obviously been designed to go with the Cheeks hamster skin, which is to be viewed as comprising a pickaxe looking like a massive shiv along with a coordinated backbling. The only issue here is that skin was given as a free reward during the last Winterfest event. The skin has not appeared in the item shop and according to the prevailing Fortnite laws regarding old Battle Pass and event skins; the chances of it ever being sold in the item shop are practically nil. This dilemma has created a situation where a lot of people are unsure who the audience is for this bundle.
One player, TysonWentForIt, shared his opinion on Twitter expressing how playful and ironic he was by stating ‘Oh cool! Items for a skin that is exclusive to this year’s Winterfest rewards and will never be sold in the item shop! Who the hell is making these decisions and can they get rid of him already?’ With the exact same wording and tone, user tgraybird simply stated that other people’s point of view was about the same, ‘should’ve been winterfest rewards smh.’
Misunderstanding doesn’t seem to be a minor issue at all. If by any chance you were not able to get the free skin last year, you will not have the possibility to buy it anymore. So, you are stuck with only the pickaxe and the backbling of a character that you may not even own. It is indeed a very confusing situation. Some players suspect that Epic plans to make a bundle of all and then reveal something merged later on. ‘I’m calling it right now. They will bundle this up with that hamster skin eventually,’ BrixerVision said. But for the moment, it is just the accessories that are looking for a place to call home.
And as for the price? The player has to pay 800 V-Bucks even if he wants just the pickaxe, which caused Armadio to complain, ‘Mannnn i really really like that pickaxe but 800 for it? 🥲’ The moment of hope for the PC users was indeed very short, as Adix3k shared a link to a specific platform with a 50% discount on the bundle, but this seems to be an exception rather than the rule.
Replies quickly turned into the usual Fortnite chaos. While some, like KUKU, saw the combo as a ‘clean’ design and thought ‘Fortnite cooked again 🔥,’ others had more serious concerns. A few players took the opportunity to ask popular leaker HYPEX about server ping problems (‘Do you know what’s wrong with the Fortnite servers right now and why the ping is so high?’) or the potential return of certain skins like Cozy Chomps and Raiden. There were even questions regarding the availability of weapons in the new Bleach-themed game mode. It has turned into a whole thing.
It is anyway a weird move. Winterfest is meant to be the season of free gifts, right? Unwrapping a new present each day at the lodge. The introduction of a paid bundle that is perfectly in line with a past free gift is just… wrong. It is like being given a free PlayStation one Christmas and then the following year the manufacturer sells you one game separately, and you are like, ‘Okay, but, why?’
And this is not the only incident of talking about the shop. Mr Dude even comes up with a My Hero Academia bundle for Shoto Todoroki and this not only indicates that the players’ imaginations are always busy with what could be next but also that the never-ending questions about the release of the next Dragon Ball skins come up as they always do. The Fortnite item shop cycle is indeed a fierce beast.
In the end, it can be said that this bundle is a classic case of Fortnite behaving in a very rational business manner but at the same time leaving the player base completely confused. It is a very good-looking set; the pickaxe really does look like a slick little shiv, as EyesTeethFlesh said, but its association with a skin that cannot be acquired makes it a purchase for a niche market. Primarily, it is for the die-hard hamster fans who were at the last Winterfest and want to complete the look. For the rest, it is just another item in the shop that raises questions and turns Epic’s rational business decisions into a point of confusion, much like the recent situation where Xbox gamers were left out of a sale.
