Fortnite pivoting away from FOMO-tactics is its healthiest decision yet
Epic GamesEpic Games’ decision to let future Fortnite Battle Pass cosmetics arrive in the Item Shop after a period of time is a breath of fresh air the community needs.
I’ll never forget the first time I picked up Fortnite and jumped into the Battle Royale. Seeing other players rocking different outfits, whether an OG character or a collab skin, made me so excited to invest my time in the game.
I was aware that the Item Shop would eventually rotate past skins back, but imagine my surprise when I learned that a specific Teen Titans skin I wanted was locked in a Battle Pass that was out years ago. And there’s no turning back time, no matter how badly I wanted it.
That’s where the FOMO experience began for me. Knowing that Battle Pass skins and cosmetics wouldn’t return in Fortnite led me to force myself to grind the game, even when I didn’t like the season—which I’m sure is the case with many players who don’t want to miss out.
I didn’t even care if I didn’t particularly like some of the Battle Pass skins. The thought of me possibly liking them in the future, as they might suddenly become a significant part of a story in Fortnite, made me continue the grind regardless of the state of the season.
Epic Games / DexertoAt some point, I realized it made the game feel unfun. Unlike the honeymoon phase I had in the beginning, I eventually didn’t play Fortnite because I really wanted to – but simply because I didn’t want to regret not getting all the skins while they were still available.
So, when Fortnite finally announced it was pivoting away from exclusivity, many players, myself included, were ecstatic. To me, it’s not just because I’m assured that the skins may eventually be available in the Item Shop after a certain period. But in a way, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulder.
Not having to worry about locked skins in the Battle Pass makes me feel like I can genuinely enjoy the game again for what it is, and not just some exclusive locker simulator where I grind tedious quests to unlock Battle Pass skins.
I won’t have to think about pressuring myself to do all the challenges to level up the Battle Pass. Sometimes, I just want to hop on a match and not have to force myself to find and use a weapon I don’t like just because I need the XP. I can just log in to the game and enjoy the Battle Royale like it’s supposed to be – fun.
Granted, Epic claimed that it would take 18 or more months for future Battle Pass items to potentially arrive in the Item Shop. But even with that in mind, so far, this decision has also been praised by other players in the community in a Reddit thread.
“Actually a W? Now people can take breaks from the game without having to worry about missing out on their favorite characters forever,” commented one player.
Another user wrote: “Rare W. Glad to hear that community feedback about how time-exclusive cosmetics being stupid is being considered by people who work at Epic. Hopefully, they can find a way to release cosmetics from old Battle Passes though.”
Despite many others suggesting that Epic should also include old Battle Pass items, this overhaul is a step in the right direction. Who knows, there could be another Paradigm’ incident’—but permanent.