The Fortnite Item Shop appears to have done something a majority of players were waiting for or probably the opposite depending on whom you ask. The Tyla emote, which has not been in the game for a long time, is finally back in the game. This was announced by the reliable leaker HYPEX, who tweeted a brief but very exciting announcement: ‘TYLA’s EMOTE RETURNS FOR THE FIRST TIME.’ Yes, that link is where anyone wanting to grab it can find it. The shop has been updated significantly because its emote has been out of stock for a long time, and its return is to some extent an event for both collectors of emotes and Tyla’s fans.
In case you have not been informed, the Tyla emote is primarily the dance from the singer’s hit ‘Water’. It is one of those emotes that experienced a brief period of popularity, then got vaulted and was speculated to be never returning again. The answer, as of now, is a positive one. And the community’s reaction? Quite mixed and scattered which is the typical case in Fortnite. Some players are very thrilled. One player, Agent EON, wrote, ‘Yesss, Tyla’s back! π₯π’ that not only conveys the excitement well but also can be viewed as a standard among users to comment on.
While the positive side is always there, the negative side is not far behind. There are players who are not too pleased with this decision. One player, Dimmy2, posted the comment: ‘Always bringing back the least favorite dance emotes.’ That hurts. Moreover, a typical Fortnite community move happens: one shares their wishes for a million other things at the same time as the announcement of one. It’s like a chaotic wishlist mixed with complaints in the replies to HYPEX’s tweet. Some people are asking, no, begging for other items to be brought back. ‘When is the candy axe coming back? π’ one player asked. Another one beseeched, ‘where is latch? ππππππ’ The demand for the ‘Over the Moon’ emote was also cried out into the void. Itβs a whole mood.
The commotion does not stop here. The whole debate was soon to divert to various random topics. A user asked HYPEX whether he was going to ensure that Morocco won AFCON (the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament), which is just tremendously off-topic and hilarious. Another user took this opportunity to tell everyone about his server issues, gave his ping report, and labelled the new season ‘so ahh bra’. Which is actually reasonable. Server talk is a never-ending story. There was even a request for a One Piece crossover since going big with our dreams is always welcome! The randomness of the comments is precisely what makes it so entertaining to follow the updates of the item. It is never just about the item.
By the way, it wasn’t just the Tyla emote that got revived. Some attentive gamers noted that the ‘Hoppin’ emote also made its appearance in the shop at the same time as the Tyla emote. So, for those who are keeping track, it was a double-feature of returning dances. But that only led to a bigger question about which other emotes have been vaulted. The cycle continues. One user nostalgically said, ‘I wish the BTS emotes would come back,’ which is an indication that the demand for licensed music emotes is never low. Another user stated that Tyla now has technically two emotes in the game and that is a fun fact.
This whole episode underlines that strange bond Fortnite players have with the Item Shop. It is a daily routine of seeing what is new, celebrating returns, mourning the continued absence of favorite skins or pickaxes, and then immediately asking for the next thing. The return of Tyla’s emote after such a long time is a victory for a certain group of players who have been waiting. But for the rest, it is just a reminder that their most-wanted item is still in the vault. George, another user, perfectly summarized the situation: ‘That emote been gone so long it came back with a legacy badge π.’ It has been away for such a long time that it seems like an OG item now, even though it is not originally one.
What can we infer from all this? The continuous return and FOMO (fear of missing out) are the key elements of Fortnite’s live service model. Epic Games knows how to make the shop fresh and unpredictable. The reappearance of the Tyla emote without much fuss is a textbook case. It gets people talking, it gets people using V-Bucks, and it also perpetuates the guessing game about what will come next. Will there be a Candy Axe next week? Who knows? But players will definitely check the shop daily at 7 PM, especially on their PlayStation or Xbox consoles.
