Fortnite ditches long-standing promise Battle Pass items won't be available to buy later

Epic Games has announced it's ditching a long-standing Fortnite promise that Battle Pass items will never be made available to buy at a later date - although it's implementing an 18-month wait period before items can appear in its in-game shop.

It's a rule Epic has been accused of breaking before, specifically when it released a beachwear version of Fortnite's season 5 poster boy Drift for purchase in 2019 - but the practice of releasing paid variants of previous Battle Pass characters has become commonplace in the years since.

Now, though, Epic is ditching the rule entirely so that any item released as part of a Battle Pass in the future can be sold in the Fortnite Shop, provided 18 months have passed since the Battle Pass' release. "This change lets us continue investing in new and exciting Battle Pass rewards" the developer wrote in a blog post, "while enabling players down the road to also enjoy the content, including Outfits based on popular licensed characters."

Epic notes there's "no guarantee" a Battle Pass item will come to the Fortnite Shop following these changes to its exclusivity rules, adding it'll let players know if it releases a future Battle Pass item that'll "never" appear in the shop.

An accompanying FAQ confirms the rule changes apply to all Battle Pass items, meaning Outfits, Back Blings, Pickaxes, Emotes, Instruments, Decals, Wraps, Loading Screens, Banner Icons, and more. Bonus Rewards and Quest Rewards, as well as items earned from mid-season Battle Pass quests, will also be eligible to purchase after 18 months - as will any item alt Styles, but the number available may vary each time the item comes to the shop.

Epic adds the changes will not impact the pricing of Fortnite's Battle Passes, which will continue to cost 950 V-Bucks and provide the opportunity to earn 1500 V-Bucks by levelling up.

In other news, developer Mediatonic's bean-based battle royale Fall Guys now exists within Fortnite, some nine months after the UK studio was severely impacted by job cuts at Epic Games that ultimately affected 830 workers. Epic insists it currently doesn't "have anything to announce" when asked if it plans to move Fall Guys' development solely into Fortnite.