By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.
It’s summer in Fortnite, which can only mean it’s time for ice cream. Epic has kicked off the battle royale’s annual summer event, called Summer Escape, which means a handful of changes to the game, including a number of freebies players can unlock. It runs from now until July 18th.
The only major gameplay tweak appears to be the addition of ice cream cones, which, as in the past, grant you various abilities when you eat them. The in-game flare guns have also been replaced with ones that shoot fireworks for a festive touch.
As per usual, the real meat of the update comes in the form of quests that have some nice unlockables in addition to some useful experience points. New quests will be added every few days during the event, and players will be able to unlock things like summer-themed wraps, trails, and loading screens, along with — most importantly — a cute little lizard friend. Here’s what you can get:
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Meanwhile, those who bought this season’s battle pass can finally unlock the laid-back version of Meowscles starting on July 6th, Fortnite Crew subscribers can get a new banana backpack just by logging in, and there will be two new summer-themed skins in the item store.
Fortnite is currently in the midst of Chapter 4: Season 3, which kicked off in June and introduced a new jungle theme to the battle royale island, complete with mud, dinosaurs, and… Transformers.
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