Rumor: Fortnite Could Be Getting a New Type of Cosmetic in the Future

gamerant.com:

Developer and publisher Epic Games could be exploring adding weapon charms to the array of cosmetics available in Fortnite. Cosmetic items form the foundation of the Fortnite business model, and a new item type could provide players with more reasons to play or spend cash in the game.

For years, Fortnite has remained one of the most popular and profitable free-to-play and live-service games around. A key part of that success is Epic Games' commitment to maintaining a constantly updated and growing library of cosmetic items. Ranging from creative original designs to crossovers with popular franchises, every Fortnite season update adds more and more ways for players to express themselves or signal their fandom — as well as potentially spend some money in the item store.

Now, a rumor spread by Fortnite leak account HYPEX suggests that Epic Games is considering expanding the range of items available for players to peruse. Currently, Fortnite and its most popular mode, Battle Royale, has 13 different types of cosmetic items available for acquisition. According to HYPEX's rumor, a potential 14th category could be «weapon charms,» a term that typically refers to small accessories that are attached to a player's weapon and dangle off it like a keychain or cellphone charm. To illustrate the possibility, HYPEX used a screenshot of Overwatch character Kiriko and her donut weapon charm.

Fortnite currently does not support weapon charms, but the game's data files once mentioned them in spots not visible to regular players. Now, HYPEX and other data miners have noticed that Epic Games has removed every reference to and mention of weapon charms from the files. This level of cleanup, they say, is unusual, as Fortnite's files also contain references to other scrapped cosmetic types, like player hats, Battle Bus customizations, and other things that were never implemented in the live game. Thus, Epic's sudden fastidiousness could indirectly signal weapon charms are coming, possibly