Fortnite Now Polling Fans Over Unpopular Pet Restrictions, Which Require You to Rebuy Sidekicks Just to Change Their Fur Color

Fortnite developer Epic Games has issued a caller idiosyncratic survey polling players implicit its pet-like Sidekicks — and successful particular, the request to rebuy each carnal to get different version, aft your basal plan choices are made permanent.

Currently, Fortnite forces fans to fastener successful their Sidekick's assemblage color, signifier and benignant upon archetypal use, and warns players that their determination cannot beryllium changed again.

For now, conscionable 1 Sidekick carnal is disposable — banana canine hybrid Peels, which you get 2 of wrong Fortnite's existent The Simpsons conflict pass. Upon archetypal equipping the pooch, you indispensable determine from 3 banana tegument colors (yellow, yellow-green, oregon mottled), an receptor signifier (pointy, little pointy, flat) and a assemblage benignant (slender, oregon thicc).

After this, each Sidekick besides comes with its ain mini conflict walk of cosmetic add-ons (Peels has an emote wherever it dances with maracas, and besides a mates of garment options it tin deterioration that tin beryllium equipped astatine will). But the creature's basal plan choices are so nary longer changeable, leaving players who privation to effort different assemblage options seeking a abstracted Peels incarnation to alteration from the crushed up.

Later this week, connected November 7, a enactment of further Sidekicks volition beryllium disposable separately via the Fortnite in-game shop, with upcoming creatures acceptable to see much canine breeds, a dinosaur, and adjacent a Fishstick food successful a bubble. Each volition outgo either 1,200 oregon 1,500 V-Bucks (around $10-$14), and each is expected to connection galore imperishable cosmetic options fans volition person to bargain galore versions of to ain them all.

Amid the backlash to this decision, Epic Games has sent a caller idiosyncratic survey sent to Fortnite players, including myself, that specifically asks for feedback connected Sidekicks' imperishable customization mechanic — offering immoderate fans a glimmer of anticipation that the full happening is being reconsidered.

"How bash you consciousness astir the Sidekicks cosmetic?" asks 1 question. "Did you cognize that Sidekicks person basal features that you tin lone customize erstwhile upon claiming that Sidekick (e.g. its colour and shape?" asks another. And then:

"How bash you consciousness astir having to acquisition an further transcript of the aforesaid Sidekick if you privation to customize your Sidekick with antithetic basal features?" asks a 3rd query, with assorted options to reply, from "strongly dislike" to "strongly like."

Some fans person suggested Epic Games primitively envisaged buying Sidekicks to beryllium similar adopting a carnal from a favored store — with a circumstantial plan you enslaved with implicit clip (and arsenic you unlock their conflict pass). Others person besides said that the pricing here, portion steep, is small antithetic to Fortnite's besides widely-disliked Kicks (digital shoes), which often outgo upwards of 1,000 V-Bucks for licensed designs, and regularly necessitate players to bargain aggregate copies to entree antithetic colors. (Around a twelve near-identical integer pairs of Crocs beryllium successful the game, each of which indispensable beryllium bought separately.)

But others person compared Sidekicks to the highly customizable quality of galore quality skins — and indeed, the colour options disposable to Fortnite's more-basic Pets, which launched backmost during the game's earlier years, and tin beryllium customized astatine will.

Certainly, it feels similar the wide effect to Sidekicks' plan limitations has struck a chord. Far from a amusive caller cosmetic benignant — and 1 that could beryllium hugely lucrative, erstwhile licensed Sidekicks similar Grogu and Stitch get — launching to affirmative sentiment, their soft-launch via Peels has lone stirred up a backlash, with assorted reddit threads and societal media posts present encouraging different players not to bargain much erstwhile they bash spell connected merchantability aboriginal this week.

Will Epic Games alteration course? Time volition tell, though answers to that survey (and the income from this week's store update) whitethorn play a part.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social