Fortnite Brings Back ‘Limited-Time’ Paradigm Outfit Then Removes It

Update Aug. 6, 8:40 pm PT: After backlash from fans Epic Games has announced purchasers will keep the Paradigm skin in Fortnite and get a refund. A new variant will be gifted to those who bought it originally, and a refund will also be offered.

Update Aug. 6, 6:58 pm PT: Epic Games have addressed the appearance of Paradigm in Fortnite’s item shop calling it a bug, and announcing that it will be removed from the lockers of those who purchased it.

Previous: Fortnite players booted up their games on Aug. 6 to find a surprising addition to the Item Shop, the original Paradigm outfit that was supposedly exclusively available during Season X.

Back in 2019, this limited-time skin was released in the shop for 1200 V-Bucks, and for five years it never returned. However, on Aug. 6, 2024, it came back confusing fans with its re-emergence before it was vaulted once again.

Epic Games have been consistent with keeping limited-time skins exclusive, aside from a handful of exceptions, but for Paradigm it looked as though they changed their minds. Ultimately the skin was removed from the store after just one hour.

The re-appearance of Paradigm was disappointing news for those who purchased the skin initially with the thought that it wouldn’t be coming back, but it was good news for fans who missed out when it first arrived in 2019 as there looked to finally be a new way to add it to their collections.

Many fans immediately speculated that Paradigm’s addition to the item shop was a mistake, and feared that it would be refunded to those who purchased it during its second run. Their reasoning was that the Order’s pickaxe was also added, and some think Epic Games intended to add back the Order, not Paradigm. Given they removed the skin from the shop it seems that it was a mistake, however, it’s unclear how they plan to handle things for those who bought it.

In the past, we’ve seen Fortnite refund skins for players when they didn’t intend to give them a way to purchase it, so that could be the same here. If you are one of the people who purchased this skin during its short stint in the store expect an official announcement regarding its future to be shared by Epic Games sometime soon.