Fortnite's old map is back... as a skin
Tilted.
It's been 18 months since Fortnite replaced its map, but some players have never stopped calling for it to return.
"Dead game, bring back old map" has become a meme at this point - and so, like all memes, Fortnite has now gone and run with it.
Today you can purchase Fortnite's old map for yourself - as a character in the game's item shop. The outfit is an intricately-detailed mash-up of some much-missed places with lots of lore references, and comes from a design submitted to Epic by fan nollobandz. Let's take a look.
Named as Eco (a play on echo? a nod to World Earth Day?), the character outfit has a fragmented Loot Lake for its chest (this would be its post-Kevin, pre-excavation state).
Dusty Depot sits on the outfit's right thigh, above a meteor crater, with Polar Peak on its right ankle. On the opposite leg sits dirt and cacti, presumably referencing Paradise Palms.
Durr Burger and the clock face from Tilted Towers sit on the right arm, while the volcano covers the opposite side. Tomato Town's mascot sits on its belt. Its helmet, meanwhile, is reminiscent of the mysterious rocket-riding Visitor.
The outfit's back bling is a rotating globe showing all of these in miniature, like a spherical Mario Galaxy level. In matches, the volcano erupts and puffs out smoke when you get an elimination.
You can also get a matching sword - the one pulled from Neo Tilted by the Mech robot with the Devourer monster's skull still embedded on it. Again, this was also a location on the original Fortnite map.
Will Fortnite ever return to its first map? At first it seemed a possibility, though as time has worn on it seems hard to imagine a version of that original world supporting all the new features and systems Epic has added in the time since. It won't stop some people asking, though.
For now, we'll have Eco, which fans seem to be responding well to. Here's a video tour of the skin, and all its references in close up:
