In a surprise move, Fortnite players are seeing a major shift in how Epic Games handles the game’s Battle Pass exclusivity.
The company is officially renouncing its long-held promise to keep items gained through the Battle Pass exclusive. It now plans to bring back some of the most highly demanded items from the passes to the in-game store after an 18-month holding period.
This is a dramatic turn in Fortnite’s monetization strategy and will change how players view and gain in-game cosmetics.
Fortnite Shifts Policy: Battle Pass Items No Longer Exclusive After 18 Months
The Battle Pass Policy of Fortnite: Then and Now
Part of the critical factors behind the success of Fortnite had long been based on its Battle Pass system, specifically with a huge role played by exclusivity.
For so many years, players who missed out on items above certain specified Battle Pass ones were simply left to live with the fact that they were gone forever.
This was the very same sort of exclusivity that compelled so many to engage with every season, ensuring nobody missed out on some unique rewards.
The continued growth of Fortnite is, naturally, growing the demand from current players who either missed previous seasons or joined later. To this end, Epic Games has now decided that these past items will be free to return to the store 18 months later.
Not Every Item Will Return
Epic Games has been clear that while many of the Battle Pass items will be eligible for a re-release, this isn’t a blanket policy.
There is no promise that every item will return after the 18-month period. Some of the cosmetics could still be marked as permanently exclusive, letting them hold the rarity and appeal for collectors.
Epic is committed to a good level of transparency in communication, ensuring players are clear about which items will or will not make a comeback.
What’s in the new policy?
The new policy is quite inclusive, from character outfits, back bling, and pickaxes to emotes—some medium-scale items—to even minute details such as wraps or loading screens.
Bonus rewards, quest rewards, and alternate styles for items fall under this new approach as well. Simply put, almost everything that might have been made available through a Battle Pass could end up in the store at some point, offering players yet another chance to acquire them.
Same Pricing: Epic Games has reassured the community that the prices of Battle Passes will remain the same at 950 V-Bucks.
As it has always been, players can get a refund of up to 1,500 V-Bucks upon leveling up through a Battle Pass.
This means that the value when one purchases a Battle Pass remains intact, even when some of these items go missing.
The fact that Epic Games is going to change its stance on Battle Pass exclusivity is a big step in Fortnite’s continued evolution.
To some, this could be interpreted as watering down the magic of the passes; for others, it is an opportunity to gain items that were missed in previous seasons.
Finding a line between new content and letting older items be more accessible seems to be the driving force behind the change.
This imposes on Epic the requirement that very clear communication and consistent pricing keep the community extremely informed and engaged during these changes.
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