Epic Games has jointly introduced a Fortnite character skin that… let’s say… has the gaming community a bit torn. The Winterfest Bandit skin is up for grabs for 800 V-Bucks right now in the item store, and players are presenting different opinions about it. On one side, there are those who are super-amused, while others are confused, and then there are still some who have arguments on Twitter regarding the color schemes. Let’s take a closer look at it.
First of all, the skin is the Winterfest Bandit. The winter bandit type of look has a mint green and white sweater, a furry hat, and a mask over his mouth and nose. He looks like a very winter bandit, right? It’s a guy who loves wearing the coziest holiday sweaters and has decided to rob a snowbank. The whole idea behind Fortnite cosmetics is that they are pricey; however, this skin is only a steady 800 V-Buck which is relatively low-priced. Thus, that’s a win for the players who want to get something new without paying a lot.
Things get interesting at this point. The reactions online were not limited to ‘oh cool, a skin.’ No, it was much bigger than that. The players went to observe the color palette right away. Gamers even joked that the mint green and white stripes on his sweater were the same as the colors of the men loving men (MLM) flag. The user ‘whoyoucallinmae’ started the whole thing with a reply that only said ‘gay santa’ with a bunch of laughing emojis next to it, which was pretty much the atmosphere for most of the discussions.
What this did was it led to a conversation that was ‘weird’ in a good way. A user named ‘JJoseRiveraa’ backed the skin with an argument that it was just a mint color scheme and that people were turning it into something it is not. Another user named ‘yourlosingm3’ was just replying all the time with gifs and saying ‘who cares’ and ‘cope.’ It was a typical Twitter fight – a lot of intensity over a digital sweater. Some players, like ‘skullyrd,’ were attempting to clarify by saying that ‘it’s not supposed to suggest a possibly gay skin; it’s you guessed it, based on the minty color scheme.’ But when the internet gets a whiff of an idea, it soon becomes wildfire. User ‘dandhedancer’ excitingly declared, ‘Time to be gay and jolly,’ which, to be honest, is a mood.
The color argument apart, the original design had mixed reviews. One of the most common critiques was that people wanted more options for customization. User ‘RheeEspinosa’ said, ‘I personally do enjoy this skin a lot, but it would be really nice if we could take the mask off.’ Another user, ‘zellover1x’ branded it as ‘mediocre’ and wished there was a style to change the color of the sweater to red or remove the hat. Thus, even though the price is attractive, some players felt like it was restricted in its present form. For the eyebrows ‘honberri021592’ gave a specific shoutout saying, ‘Eyebrows are on fire’ so…
There were also some questions and perhaps some disappointments about the method to get the skin. Some users, such as ‘JackieFluffed’ and ‘ArmaniMikelson,’ said that they thought the skin would be free. One wrote, ‘Aww man I thought bro was free,’ and another, ‘bruh I was told he’d be free heartbreak.’ This means that there might have been some unfounded rumors or leaks that misled people’s expectations. It’s an indication that in the Fortnite leak community, things are not always as the whispers say. At least, one user, ‘UnhingedFN,’ was just happy he got released today and not just before Christmas stating, ‘I’m happy he got released today and not December 23rd.’
And obviously, there has to be some hype. There was a faction of the player base that was completely supportive. ‘Bryce8181’ exclaimed, ‘AND HES DIRT CHEAP ON TOP OF BEING SUAVE LETS GOOOOO.’ ‘FrxzoneStorm’ called it a ‘massive W.’ So, for every person arguing about the sweater’s symbolism or asking for an edit style, there is someone just happy to have a cool and not costly new character to play with in the battle royale game.
It is hard to imagine that such a simple cosmetic drop may trigger these mini-dramas, but that is indeed Fortnite Twitter in a nutshell. A new skin is not just another skin; it is also a conversation starter, debate topic, and sometimes even a meme factory. The Winterfest Bandit is here, he costs 800 V-Bucks, and he’s already sparked more discussion than many PlayStation or Xbox reveals.
