The whole Fortnite buzz around the Kim Kardashian skin has finally come to an end. Truly, her digital representation has been sold out in the item store. The digital celebrity’s character literally vanished from the store after weeks of existence that felt like a year—the truth is, she stayed there for weeks—and now she has left the showroom with her imaginary foundation kits. Or, let’s put it this way, the in-game store. ShiinaBR, a source who is generally very reliable when it comes to leaks, was the first to tweet and confirm the news with a simple tweet ‘kim kardashian has left the fortnite item shop’, which then opened up the whole conversation. And what about the players? They were definitely not apathetic and their response was very emotional.
I must say that this was not only one of the most talked-about collaborations for a long time but also not just betweenwhose wear it was. One of the reasons was its lengthy stay that made it prolonging and thus the online debate was started. A whole online argument, a mixture of hype and confusion, and memes had been created. The item shop had daily rotations, but Kim K was always there. Some began to wonder what’s the reason she was there for so long. One gamer, in his very blunt way, said, ‘Because FOMO.’ The Fear Of Missing Out, usually the main driving force behind sales of certain Fortnite’s cosmetics, is wired in Epic Games. If a skin is either highly demanded or somewhat contentious, players tend to panic buy it thus that skin being extended. And judging from the discussions, this one was for sure a major seller.
SavageFTWx, a player, asked outright if the character had broken the record for ‘staying in the best-selling section the longest, right?’ It is a logical question. We cannot see Epic’s internal sales figures, but just taking into account the duration of her stay, we would have to infer that she was the milk cow of the company. Another user, PragmaticPrisma, was more hopeful, claiming, ‘with so much profit, it will return soon.’ Maybe they are right. Such celebrity-skinned characters almost regularly take a trip back. It would not be shocking if Kim resurfaced in a month or two when the hype has slightly subsided just to generate a new wave of FOMO among the players again.
Still, not all players were sad about her exit. On the contrary, the comments were divided to such an extent that it was like a war of opinions. “Thank fucking god,” Treelotl_silly exclaimed, a feeling shared by Stxpid_Idiot and Jr_G_Man who expressed, “let’s just hope it never comes back.” One reason some players provided as to why the skin was not liked was that it was felt to be unexciting. Dominickhu96157 called the model “yet another boring person” and “ugly,” whereas JoeyAlvy was very quick to refute such statements saying “millions and millions disagree with you.” That pretty much sums up the Fortnite community, very much divided when it comes to a celebrity skin.
And there were … other comments. The kind that make you think that Twitter is indeed a mad place. Some commenters deviated so much from the topic that it turned into a completely different discussion, which was expected. One user even jokingly getting at ‘Next is XXXTENTACION…’ which, considering Fortnite’s past of weird collabs, maybe isn’t that far-fetched? But still, it was a fun way to lighten the atmosphere. Furthermore, there was quite a peculiar back-and-forth regarding the Candy Axe pickaxe from Winterfest, where quintyfv was inquiring about its return. That’s exactly how these shop updates are—one item is gone and players are already asking what other items they might have missed.
There were players who couldn’t understand why this matter should be considered a newsworthy one at all. TZer0___ wrote, ‘I don’t see a reason for you to make a post about this? Don’t you dare tell me that you are going to start doing that for every little thing from now on.’ And pacbabysmilk was even more straightforward: ‘This isn’t news; we are playing the game.’ However for most of those players who keep tabs on the leakers, this is news. The item shop is a daily fountain of rituals and the departure of a major skin marks the closure of an era regardless of how silly that era may have been.
So, what is the overall takeaway? It only proves the power of Fortnite’s cross-promotion strategy. They can introduce a skin that not only steals the spotlight for weeks, becomes a best-seller but also sparks arguments—all while bringing in huge profits. It is not just about gaming anymore; it is about the moments that shape the culture. The Kim K skin was an event whether one loved it or loathed. The game’s events often generate buzz across platforms like PlayStation and Xbox communities.
