Someone Just Paid $42,500 For A Copy of Fortnite, a Free-To-Play Game

A pristine transcript of Fortnite has conscionable been sold for $42,500 — which seems a batch for a free-to-play game.

To beryllium fair, this is simply a boxed mentation of Fortnite — thing that besides grants entree to the game's archetypal Save the World mode, which Epic Games inactive requires you wage a tiny magnitude to access.

But there's nary proposition this sealed transcript of the world's biggest conflict royale volition ever really beryllium played. Indeed, it has been sold encased successful a box, and labelled with a 10 A++ standing from video crippled grading institution Wata — its highest imaginable prime score.

A $42,500 transcript of Fortnite. Image credit: Heritage Auctions, HA.com.

Sold by Heritage Auctions, this transcript of Fortnite is an Xbox One mentation from the game's archetypal 2017 people run. Only a constricted fig of carnal copies were ever produced, and this variation dates backmost to erstwhile the game's now-ubiquitous conflict royale mode was conscionable a side-offering.

As mentioned, it does see entree to Save the World, which is worth... something. Epic Games has bundled the archetypal Fortnite mode successful galore ways implicit the years, but presently sells entree arsenic portion of a $18.49 add-on that includes 1,500 V-Bucks (which would separately outgo $18) arsenic good arsenic an exclusive skin.

Even with this successful mind, though, you're inactive paying $42,482 implicit the odds.

These days, Fortnite is simply a precise antithetic beast — a metaverse of conflict royale modes, user-generated maps, positive LEGO and euphony offerings. Oh, and it's location to beauteous overmuch each media franchise that has ever licensed itself for a video game, arsenic good arsenic real-life popstars and present adjacent Quentin Tarantino.

Earlier today, Tarantino fans got a archetypal glimpse astatine the director's caller 'Lost Chapter' of Kill Bill, which stars an animated Uma Thurman and Fortnite's Peely the banana, and volition debut archetypal wrong the game. Tell that to idiosyncratic backmost successful 2017, and I uncertainty they'd judge you.

Of course, video games attracting immense sums arsenic collectible items is thing caller — and wrong the expansive strategy of things, $42,500 pales successful examination to different auction prices. Back successful 2021, a factory-sealed transcript of Super Mario Bros. sold for a record-breaking $2 million, though there's statement implicit whether the merchantability counted arsenic an auction successful the accepted sense. Officially, Guinness World Records recognizes a transcript of Super Mario 64 sold for $1.56 cardinal arsenic the highest magnitude successfully bid for a video crippled to date. But who knows however overmuch that transcript of Fortnite volition beryllium worthy successful different 100 years?

If you're hunting for the champion offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals connected video games, tech, and more. You tin find each our apical picks and terms drops successful our afloat Black Friday hub, oregon cheque retired our applicable pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Image credit: Heritage Auctions/HA.com

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