Therefore, Epic Games has recently included a new little companion in the Fortnite Item Shop, which, by the way, is the favorite tree that can think and feel in the entire world. No joke, Groot is now a Sidekick and has come to stay. The announcement on Twitter was, um, very straightforward: ‘He is Groot. Groot is now available in the Shop as a Sidekick!’ That is it. That is the whole story. No special treatment, no major happening. Just… Groot. He has come. You can bring him to your place. Enjoy him.
Still, the custom of the Fortnite community is still going. The announcement is one thing. The reaction? That’s where the main plot is. And I swear the comments are a wild mix of excitement, confusion, and a huge number of people asking for literally everything else in the universe.
First of all, it’s some players who are really really excited about it. One user, KUUGO, said ‘It’s of great quality Thank you to the creator,’ which is great. A bit of positivity in the middle of, well, all the other mixed reactions. Another user, YooPass, simply wrote ‘Yoo ts look so clean’ and added a fire emoji. So the little guy does have some fans. He is cute, he is Groot, what is not to love?
But then… oh boy. Then the other side comes. The fast and instinctive negative reaction from a segment of the community that, upon seeing a new skin, immediately starts thinking of ten other things they would have preferred instead. It’s like a clock.
One user calling himself CHEWIE_______ took it very hard and called the situation ‘Another top price sidekick with barely Any customization.. Greed becoming more obvious with every New release.’ Ouch. That’s like a punch in the gut. And they were not done yet. In another reply the user nearly proclaimed an embargo on his spending: ‘16000 vbucks on my account.. And until the changes epic made to SBMM are reverted.. They won’t be spent, or any more vbucks purchased. Release whatever you like in the shop.. My wallet stays closed.’ That is a very strong statement. Connecting the shop item to larger issues with the game’s Skills-Based-Matchmaking? That’s definitely some next-level gamer feedback right there.
Then, there are those players who are not quite sure what this Groot is all about. Do you remember Rocket Raccoon? He was a back bling pet from the Chapter 2, Season 4 Battle Pass. So, some players like AlexeyZebol were angry that this new Groot Sidekick was not given for free to those who had already gotten the Galaxy salon from that season. ‘I guess, only them “muh OG” guys get the special treatment with free Bonesy,’ they humorously put it. This has led to a mini-debate in the replies concerning the distinction between exclusive Battle Pass content and new, separate shop item. User justagamer2024 has participated by saying that ‘Groot is licensed,’ hence, it’s a separate, paid thing. This makes sense, but try telling that to someone who has previously spent V-Bucks on a Groot skin that long ago.
And of course the classic Fortnite replying section tradition: asking for everything else. The tweet turned into a sort of wishlist line. There were people begging for a Steven Ogg skin (day 5 of asking, apparently!). Jujutsu Kaisen was demanded to return. John Pork was wanted. A player just shouted ‘GIVE. US. JEFF’ (probably the creepy mattress monster from Allison Road or Half-Life?). There was also a demand for a Minion and a challenge to ‘add them if you’re not scared’ with a picture of… some characters. The scene is wild. Beautiful, beautiful chaos.
One of the most humorous and maybe best, criticisms was from SHAPE, who called the Sidekick a ‘lazy implementation.’ They were wondering about Groot’s suit from the movies, why he wasn’t provided with the right Walkman or headphones, or even having an emote of ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ as a built-in feature. ‘Such a lazy implementation,’ they echoed. They are right! If you are going to sell a high-end cosmetic of a beloved character, at least give it the main features, right?
And then there was that one guy who just complained about the Arc Gun being overpowered. ‘BRO NERF THE FUCKING ARC GUN AND SHIT BRO BOTS KEEP SPAMMING IT ON ME BRUH.’ Sir, but this is a Groot announcement. Yet, if you want to vent, it’s all good since we have all been through that.
So what’s the final verdict on this whole situation? Fortnite’s adding Groot as a Sidekick is an intriguing crossover. It is also available on PlayStation and Xbox.
