Fortnite offering free refunds after accidentally releasing rarest skin in Item Shop

One of the rarest skins in the game, The Paradigm was accidentally released in the Fortnite Item Shop and Epic is now offering refunds to players who copped it.

Fortnite cosmetics are a popular topic among both players and fans who like collecting skins, emotes, and other items for their lockers. Some items are only accessible through the Battle Pass, while others may be purchased in the Item Shop.

However, Epic mistakenly dumped one of the game’s rarest skins, The Paradigm, in the Item Shop, which was introduced in Season X for 1,200 V-Bucks and has been unavailable for nearly 1700 days.

But this changed fast when Epic published the skin in the Item Shop at the August 6 shop reset and then deleted it within minutes of recognizing the error. However, that window was plenty for enthusiastic players to grab the skin, as well as those who previously bought it, blasting developers for their “fumble”.

During the night, Fortnite released a new statement on the 'THE PARADIGM' Item Shop situation:

If you bought her today, you can KEEP the skin, AND Epic will give you back your V-Bucks ‼️

OG owners will receive an exclusive style for the skin, similar to Purple Skull Trooper! pic.twitter.com/iW1sDZXdkc

— Shiina (@ShiinaBR) August 7, 2024

Shortly after, Epic released a statement on their X account stating the accidental release of the skin and informed players who purchased The Paradigm during the shop’s rotation, could keep the Outfit and Epic would refund their V-Bucks soon.

“We plan to create a brand new variant of The Paradigm that we’ll grant exclusively to people who purchased the original Outfit. Original purchasers will also have the option to refund this item if they’d like”, they further informed affected players.

The retraction and this announcement brought joy among the player community who commended Epic on this “W move”. One such player said, “Yes give her the black and red style she always deserved.”

Another chimed in, “Another day, another victory for the OGs.” A third one wrote, “This is honestly a huge W. Glad you guys listened to the community.”

While The Paradigm might not make a return to the shop soon enough, Fortnite has announced that all future Battle Pass cosmetics will not be exclusive anymore and may be released in the Item Shop soon after a pass expires.