Epic Games surprises us again but this time the surprise is a little disappointing. The OXR bundle was released without any announcements or teasers and is now available in Fortnite’s item store. To make things even more disappointing, the process to claim the bonus item for the first purchase involves an additional step. Players need to make a purchase from a website and not from the game. After a little searching and to the relief of most players, ShiinaBR, who is always the first to share Fortnite updates, tweeted a link to the site.
What is there to look at in the O.XR bundle? The bundle doesn’t strike the mark. For Fortnite, if they try to do special ops, with tactical aesthetics, and cyberpunk, the result is the bundle. The comments show that people are split between being excited and being frustrated. There is one very noticeable comment from @PinkGirlEnergy, who made a collage and wrote “Fortnite butchered another concept art 💔🥀 he went from handsome to default ahh.” This season, this comment is among the more creative ones I have seen because it says a lot while being funny. It also reduces the skin to the default heart meme. All of these recent releases seem to visually downgrade the promotional art and the in-game models.
There is a separate group of people purely waiting for the other skins. For example, @vHusko1 replied, “We haven’t been waiting for this bundle, we have been waiting for Evie X’s bundle 🤦 ” and as you might expect, it keeps getting repeated. @strawbryymiilk gave a straight demand “Where is Evie 😤 ” as it is a demand. It has been a long time since people have been waiting for those skins, and there is immediate and well-known outrage every time something else is dropped.
A few others, including @Broxcky, are just as baffled about the price and as such ask, “How much is it?” This is understandable with how overpriced these bundles have become. Looking completely different from the Evie or O.X.R. discussion, there is @Alecitoxdd, who is seemingly the only one waiting out for The Kid LARoi collab, tweeting, “Damn, another damn day without the kid laroi coming out 😿.” This amusingly exemplifies how the community’s needs are so different from one another, there is a grail skin everyone anxiously waits for.
Some Fortnite skins garners more attention than others. @GrumpyAI called out “Holy shit Stryker mortal kombat” with a side by side image, while @TsmCold said, “Now we need Dexter Morgan,” which, in my honest opinion, would be a very over the top addition. The collaborations Fortnite does are seemingly endless. There was also a mention of ‘@saltty_bucket’ still waiting for “Police car skins 😞,” which is a very long overdue request. The requests for very particular items never stop.
The praise is relatively less; as @x103p said, “W skins going to buy the girl but I wanted the ballistic ones to come out first,” implying that there is some appreciation, but the timing could have been better. Likewise, @St3ak3atah’s, “Sure, whatever. I’ll take Human Judy Hopps 👌🏼” sarcastic tone is kind of lowkey and another fun Zootopia reference that kind of fits the aesthetic.
The bundle, on the other hand, is only available through Epic’s web store, where they previously offered the free item as an incentive for the first purchase. Unfortunately, this potholder strategy, albeit quite clever, aims to divert traffic to their direct platform instead of the console stores. But all gamers seem to care about is the cosmetics and how worth it they are for the V-Bucks.
What’s intriguing is the stark difference in reactions. While some are already grabbing the new styles, others are complaining louder about the skins that have yet to be released. The Fortnite community’s cycle of anticipation, release, and feedback is what draws players back daily. Even when a release doesn’t cater to certain community members, it still has the power to engage the entire community and keep them checking the item shop daily, hoping their dream skin has been added.
So, the O.X.R. bundle is now available, which no one asked for, and it is fully dressed in its tactical gear and cyberpunk style. Whether you love or hate the Fortnite aesthetic, you are still waiting for Evie, The Kid LARoi, or even police cars, the Fortnite item shop still conceals the shiniest surprises. The players keep waiting for the drop or keep visiting the shop for the next piece of “butchered” concept art, which some players tend to say. The loop continues.
