A rare Fortnite skin returned after five years and Epic Games had to pull it after one hour.
An interesting story played out on August 6 with many twists and turns following the Fortnite Item Shop reset. To the dismay of thousands, any player who clicked the Fortnite "Shop" tab in-game was met with a re-release of the ultra-rare and supposedly "limited-time" Paradigm skin. Social media exploded with reactions, and although Epic Games removed the skin one hour later, some purchased it and hoped the developers would honor it. The plot twists in this story are extraordinary, and here's how it went down.
Fortnite's blunder brings Paradigm skin back to the game
Five years ago, on October 11, 2019, to be exact, Epic Games released the Paradigm skin in Fortnite. The developers marketed this cosmetic item as a truly limited-time opportunity. As it stood until August 6, Epic Games stuck to its word. The initial Paradigm skin was available for three days before disappearing from the Item Shop seemingly forever.
However, something occurred on August 6 that flipped the script. The Paradigm skin unexpectedly returned to the Fortnite Item Shop, this time for an even more limited time. Players lucky enough to be by their game could purchase this five-year-old skin. Those who did not act quickly enough would miss their chance, as Epic Games removed Paradigm from the Item Shop after only one hour.
Questions flooded social media regarding whether Epic Games would allow opportunistic players to keep this rare Fortnite skin. The answer would soon arrive from the developers, but the story did not end there.
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Epic Games announces plan to remove Paradigm from players' lockers before reneging
Roughly an hour after nuking the Paradigm skin from the Fortnite Item Shop, Epic Games posted a statement. The developers claimed that, due to a bug, the skin was unintentionally brought back to the Item Shop. Players who purchased it would have it removed from their lockers and receive a full refund.
Sadness quickly set in for those opportunistic collectors who thought they had pulled off the Fortnite heist of the year. However, as mentioned earlier, the story did not end there. Epic Games released another statement later in the evening, saying that it will honor the Paradigm purchases. As a consolation for those who bought the skin on October 19, an exclusive variation will arrive in their locker at a later date.
That's where the story ends, for now at least. This is not the first time Epic Games has mistakenly re-released something unintentionally. The ultra-rare "Tidy" emote returned by mistake in December 2022 before Epic removed it from the Item Shop. It's unclear how the Paradigm skin returned to Fortnite, and we'll likely never learn the reason.
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