Fortnite: Battle Royale has brought back the coveted skin “Skull Trooper” to the shop. This has led to it being worn by almost everyone now. Hardcore fans from the beginning are outraged.
Which skin are we talking about? We are talking about the Skull Trooper. This skin was released shortly after the launch of Fortnite: Battle Royale during Halloween 2017. Back then, the game was barely known and far from the popularity it enjoys today.
The great rise of Fortnite Battle Royale only began in January 2018. In the first months after its release in September 2017, Fortnite was still more of a hidden gem.
Why was the Skull Trooper so sought after? This was because only a small fraction of today’s players were around at that time, and not all of them bought the skin.
Thus, the Skull Trooper was super rare and a symbol for “OGs” (Original Gangster).
The OGs are thus the fans from the early days and esteemed veterans who played the game “before it was cool.” Some players even sold their accounts with the Trooper and made a good profit.
How the special skin became commonplace
The return of the Skull Trooper: A year after the release of the first Skull Trooper, Epic has now brought the skin back and offered it in the shop for 15 Euros.
Masses of players probably bought the skin. The hype around the Skull Trooper was built up throughout the year, and its return was a tremendous success.
Super skin goes mainstream: Now lobbies feel filled to half or more with Skull Troopers. What was once one of the rarest skins and regarded as a badge of honor for hardcore fans is now the new mainstream and “noob skin”.
Even the exclusive, purple special color that only the original Skull Trooper customers received stands out less with the current flood of Troopers.
The “OGs” are furious: Many players who previously basked in the glory of their super-rare skin are not happy at all. On Reddit, Twitter, and others, they are airing their grievances and complaining endlessly. Here are a few extracts from the current rant:
- “As an OG player of Fortnite: Battle Royale, I can hardly believe you are bringing back the Skull Trooper. I will uninstall now. You guys disgust me!”
- “[… ] I don’t care if you guys are making millions of dollars from it now. It’s just sad to see a horde of bad players have bought that wonderful skin.”
Epic has probably made millions
How much money has Epic actually made? Fortnite currently has about 78 million players. If only 1 percent of them (and it was likely more) bought the skin, it should already be over 11 million dollars in revenue.
And this with a skin that has been around for a year.
Epic will surely bring other rare skins: Since rare skins sell well, more outfits will probably come back to the shop at some point. The only question is whether Epic will do the same with skins from past Battle Passes.
What is your opinion on this? Do you think it’s okay for Epic to sell skins as they please, or should such rare skins remain a rarity?
