Epic Games announces new changes to Fortnite's battle pass item exclusivity
Items may be offered for purchase "after 18 or more months"
Fortnite's Battle Pass rewards will no longer be exclusive and will instead be made available to purchase in the future.
That's according to Epic Games, who shared the new changes in a new blog post where it explained that items will be made available at a later date but "might be offered purchase in the Fortnite Shop after 18 or more months from the Battle Pass’ expiration."
"This change lets us continue investing in new and exciting Battle Pass rewards while enabling players down the road to also enjoy the content, including Outfits based on popular licensed characters," the developer said.
Epic clarified in the FAQ that all types of items will be made eligible for purchase later on, including Outfits, Back Blings, Pickaxes, Emotes, Instruments, Decals, Wraps, Loading Screens, Banner Icons, and more, but reiterates that players will need to wait "at least" 18 months after a Battle Pass expires.
In addition, the number of alternative styles per item will also vary each time they are added to the shop. Epic explained that if rewards are added to the shop, with alternative styles, there will be an option to purchase them, but this does not include Lego Styles.
"If an item has a LEGO Style, this Style will always come with the item in the Shop," Epic said.
It stated, however, that not all items are guaranteed to come to the in-game shop after 18 months, saying: "Shop selection is dependent on a variety of factors, and there is no guarantee that a Battle Pass item will come to the Shop after this change goes into effect."
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It added that if an item in a future Battle Pass will never be available at a later date it will inform players.
As for bonus and quest rewards, these "may be available for purchase", also at least 18 months after a Battle Pass expires, along with earnable items from Battle Pass Quests that unlock sometime after the Battle Pass launches.
Epic Games confirmed it will not be changing the price of the Fortnite Battle Pass despite the new changes, and will still cost 950 V-Bucks.