Fortnite developer Epic Video games has introduced its newest person survey, surveying gamers about their pet-like sidekicks. Particularly, after a fundamental design selection turns into everlasting, every creature should be repurchased to acquire one other model.
Presently, Fortnite is forcing followers to lock within the sidekick’s physique colour, form, and elegance on first use, warning gamers that they can not change their resolution once more.
As of now, the one sidekick animal out there is Banana Canine Hybrid Peel, with two out there inside Fortnite’s present Simpsons Battle Move. If you first equip your canine, you have to select from three banana peel colours (yellow, yellow-green, or mottled), ear form (pointed, blunt, or flat), and physique fashion (slender or thick).
After this, every sidekick additionally comes with its personal mini battle move of beauty add-ons (Peels additionally has a dancing emote holding maracas and some shirt choices that may be geared up at will). Nevertheless, the creature’s fundamental design decisions can not truly be modified, and gamers who need to experiment with different physique choices in quest of a unique incarnation of Peels must change it from the bottom up.
Later this week, on November seventh, a collection of extra sidekicks shall be out there individually by Fortnite’s in-game store. Future creatures will embody extra canine breeds, dinosaurs, and even a fish stick fish in a bubble. Every will value 1,200 or 1,500 V-Bucks (roughly $10 to $14), and every is predicted to supply quite a few everlasting ornament choices, which means followers might want to buy quite a few variations to personal all of them.
Amid the backlash over this resolution, Epic Video games has despatched out a brand new person survey to Fortnite gamers, together with myself, particularly asking for suggestions on Sidekicks’ persistent customization mechanic, giving some followers a glimmer of hope that the entire thing shall be overhauled.
“What do you concentrate on Sidekicks cosmetics?” asks one query. “Do you know that Sidekick has fundamental options (like colour and form) which you could customise as soon as if you declare your Sidekick?” others ask.
“How do you are feeling about having to buy extra copies of the identical Sidekick if you wish to customise it with totally different base options?” The third question specifies response choices starting from “I strongly dislike” to “I very very like.”
Some followers have steered that Epic Video games initially thought that buying a Sidekick can be like adopting a creature from a pet retailer. You will develop hooked up to sure designs over time (as you unlock the Battle Move). Others say the pricing right here is about the identical as Fortnite’s equally broadly hated Kicks, albeit dearer. Kicks typically value upwards of 1,000 V-Bucks for licensed designs, and a number of copies should be bought regularly to entry totally different colours. (There are roughly a dozen digital pairs of practically similar Crocs within the sport, however every should be bought individually.)
Nevertheless, some evaluate Sidekicks to the extremely customizable nature of many character skins. In actual fact, the colour choices out there for Fortnite’s extra fundamental pets have been launched within the early days of the sport and could be freely custom-made.
Certainly, it feels just like the widespread response to Sidekicks’ design limitations resonates. Removed from being a enjoyable new beauty kind, the introduction of licensed sidekicks like Grogu and Sew might doubtlessly herald big earnings, however though it launched to constructive sentiment, its delicate launch by way of Peels has solely led to backlash, with varied reddit threads and social media posts encouraging different gamers to not purchase any extra when it launches later this week.
Will Epic Video games change its coverage? Solely time will inform, however responses to that survey (and gross sales from this week’s store replace) may have an effect.
Tom Phillips is videogameaddicted’s information editor. You may contact Tom at tom_phillips@videogameaddicted.com or discover him on Bluesky. @tomphillipseg.bsky.social