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.