This is an utterly demented drop of footwear by Fortnite with the item shop, and the crowd was charging the roof. This kicked off huge debates on every crowded corner in Cluttered with Zypher about whether the Hotdog Kicks at 600 V-Bucks are worth it or just some more overpriced lame cosmetics.
What do these shoes entail? They’re just hot dog slippers, really. Meaning two frankfurters held firmly against the feet with trace elements of mustard and relish. The absurdity-to-brilliance factor of this speaks for what Fortnite is about these days. The famous leaker, HYPEX, revealed his discovery on Twitter, and the reactions came in immediately.
There are players that are just made for these. “These hot dogs takes home the best shoes this year,” said a user called Edge, while another player named Xylo just said “i bought them” with a smiling emoji. Most said they were instant buys. “As a Dachshund owner, I had to get them!” added one Dachshund owner; and really, when you think about it, it makes total sense.
The other side of the discussion comes next. The price controversy is starting to get dirty with user tgraybird leading the charge against a 600 V-Buck price. “600 for a pair of kicks you barely see in game is also expensive,” he said, kicking off a whole thread of back-and-forth discussion on Fortnite’s pricing model.
Hereafter the replies got spicy. While tgraybird aired their complaints on pricing, the next user replied, “Js say ur poor 😭✌️,” which in modern gaming insults is quite a stinger. Of course gloomride kept the fire alive by stating, “600 should’ve been the price of the collab ones and 300 for those ugly original ones,” meaning everybody seems to have ideas about what ought to be in Fortnite’s economy.
There is the balanced issue on how divided the community is about this. Some said they consider 600 V-Bucks completely reasonable with one user commenting, “600 is far better than 1200 and its chump change.” Then there are the ones who question why a pair of virtual shoes you can barely see during gameplay should even be worth anything. User jim_itz37867 straight up questioned, “Can someone tell me the point of these kicks and others,” which is a fair question when you stop and think about it.
Also, an int’resting moment for such a hotdog shoe drop. It comes down while the controversial Jared Leto skin is in the shop, and some players voiced they would rather have the stupid hotdog footwear than the Morbius actor digital likeness. “We’re all buying these over the Jared Leto skin,” said Bee, and, honestly, Mood.
This all leads to a bit of confusion as to why Epic chose hot dog slippers instead of Halloween-themed footwear, with Nameless_Zea asking, “Why no Halloween kicks? 😔” which is a legit query since we’re clearly in spooky season. But then again, when has Fortnite really ever gone by conventional seasonal logic?
The whole thing speaks to the weird cultural space that the Fortnite item shop now holds in, with players even passionately debating the worth of virtual goods. Some regard it as pure fun – “definitely a cop,” said user pkwtff, which is gaming slang for instant purchase. Others, meanwhile, put the price tag under scrutiny, particularly on products that are a joke more than serious cosmetics.
What is sure is that Epic really knows their audience. They know that players will pay for ridiculous things that become a hot topic, and hot dog kicks are doing just that. Whether or not one considers 600 for them a fair trade is all in the sense of humor and the degree of enjoyment they receive in confusing their opponents with such absurd footwear.
Immediately after HYPEX shared the shoe’s item shop link, despite all controversies, the kicks went on sale for purchase with the reactions being the proof in the pudding. After all, some of the weirdest cosmetics are also the most popular at times, and the player reactions are just as funny as the items. Just another day in the forever-changing and never predictable world of Fortnite fashion.
And so, for this moment, hot dog shoes exist. Whether for meme value, some sick confidence that they look cool, or just to flex to the homies, it’s bound to stir up waves in the community. And surely the pricings will be discussed for some time as long as Fortnite keeps releasing weirder and weirder cosmetics; however, for one thing, not even a soul will remember the Great Hot Dog Shoe Controversy of This Season. PlayStation and Xbox players alike are debating these virtual goods.
