Fortnite’s rarest-ever weapon leaked to return 8 years later – but there’s a catch
Epic GamesFortnite developers constantly shake up the Battle Royale meta by introducing new weapons and reviving classic ones from the vault. However, one weapon that only appeared in the game for 30 minutes during its early days is reportedly making a long-awaited return, according to leaks.
On January 14, trusted Fortnite leaker HYPEX posted to their Twitter/X account, stating: “The Zapotron confirmed returning to OG soon.” However, while the OP weapon is making a return to Battle Royale, the catch is that its comeback will reportedly be limited to the throwback Fortnite OG mode.
They also revealed the purposed weapons stats:
- Damage: 50-150
- Headshot Damage: 125-375
- Structure Damage: 1,000
- Reload Time: 2 seconds
- Ammo: Energy Cells
Naturally the post quickly went viral and has garnered over 10 thousand likes, leaving many players shocked over it’s alleged comeback. “HOLY S**T IS THIS REAL?!” a player replied echoeing the comments of various fans.
“Omg no f**king way. As an OG I had the chance to play the weapon one time back then, then it got removed, since then it’s been 7 years and I want it back,” another responded.
While others joked: “Imagine they add it for 30 min then vault it again,” and “‘Returning’ bro we never played this s**t before.”
What is the infamous Zapotron Fortnite weapon?
Epic GamesThe Zapotron was briefly available in Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode during its pre-season in 2017, known as Season 0, before the game’s official Season 1 launch. At that time, Fortnite was still primarily focused on its single-player Save The World mode.
The Zapotron can be fired either in charged shots for up to 150 damage or in short bursts for a base damage of 50 as outlined above. It is a Hitscan Sniper Rifle that uses Energy Cells for ammo, has a 2.5x headshot multiplier, no damage drop-off, and charges in 2 seconds for up to 3x damage.
Due to the Sniper Rifle’s OP abilities, Epic Games removed the Zapotron just a half an hour after it featured in the Battle Royale mode. Since then, it has remained exclusive to the original paid Save The World mode.
This limited availability means most players have never had the chance to use the Zapotron – making its rumored return feel almost like a brand-new new weapon.
The Zapotron leak surfaced shortly after Epic released the v33.20 update, which introduced two Hatsune Miku skins to Fortnite and a Miku-themed Music Pass for Season 7 of Fortnite Festival. The content patch also set the stage for the highly anticipated Godzilla vs. Kong event, which is fast approaching.