Fortnite brings back plague-themed Grim Medicine cosmetics
Fortnite has brought back the Grim Medicine cosmetic line to its in-game store. For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, players can buy the infamous Plague Doctor skin again.
Previously, Epic Games had not displayed these items since March 1, 2019. The set was rare in Fortnite as the only owners were players who bought them before Epic had omitted these items from the store. On the other hand, most other skins typically reappear every few months or even weeks. Players believe that the pandemic had made Epic pull out all plague-themed game items and skins of the game.
The first COVID-19 cases were detected in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019. Later in March 2020, the World Health Organization announced a global health emergency. COVID-19 has claimed more than six million lives worldwide as of January 2023. Many theorize that Epic did not want the items to bring controversy and thus took them out of the store rotation.
Epic has not confirmed this theory or entertained questions regarding Grim Medicine’s omission from its store for almost four years. Regardless, players have expressed their excitement over the returning items. Meanwhile, those who bought the items before the pandemic are disappointed that the once rare items will become common.
Fortnite’s bug issues
Fortnite’s most recent chapter, Chapter 4 Season 1, was introduced in December last year, with players reporting major glitches with the update. The most visible bug was in the Shockwave Hammer — a powerful close-range weapon.
One of the biggest glitches with the weapon was that it allowed players to jump to places more times than the developer’s original intention. Because of that, players can explore islands faster. Players also said they encountered issues with characters’ vaulting mechanics. There were multiple login issues among global players as well.
Epic conducted an unscheduled downtime on January 9 for around an hour. After the game went live again, players found that the developer had disabled Shockwave Hammer and the vaulting mechanic.
The game then received an update that brought back several disabled items, and players can now use the Shockwave Hammer again. They, however, said the improvements Epic had made on it still needed to be perfected. Many believe that Epic should not have brought back the hammer that quickly.
Epic’s recent Fortnite update also brought back the vaulted burst assault rifle, which also suffered from bugs after the introduction of the new chapter. Along with these two items, players can now perform the hurdling mechanic again. Hurdling in Fortnite is a mechanic that enables players to jump over obstacles around characters’ knee heights. Characters do not need to stop and restart their sprints with this mechanic.
The new update by Epic also marked the end of Fortnite’s Reboot Rally. During the event, which ran from the end of December to the beginning of January, players could receive free cosmetics by completing various challenges.
To open the new season, Fortnite collaborated with several well-known figures like YouTuber MrBeast and NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo to bring special in-game items.
