Fortnite re-releases, then quickly pulls, ancient Snoop Dogg emote
Oops dog.
Epic Games has removed an ultra-rare Snoop Dogg-themed dance emote which reappeared on sale in Fortnite's Item Shop shop last night for the first time in more than four years.
The emote, named "Tidy", allows your character to dance like Snoop Dogg in his 2004 song Drop It Like It's Hot. It's one of a handful of emotes from Fortnite's early days thought to use unlicensed dance moves - other examples of which sparked largely-unsuccessful legal threats from individuals keen to take Epic Games to court.
Fans were surprised to see the emote return upon the Item Shop's midnight UK time refresh - though its appearance was shortlived, and it was pulled from sale just a couple of hours later.
Tidy appeared as part of a recurring shop section where Epic surfaces rare items which have not returned for sale in-game for several years.
Other items in this section last night - including the game's hippie-themed Flower Power Set - were also removed.
The grouping of this emote, showcasing the notoriously green-friendly Snoop Dogg sat alongside these hippie-themed items, also raised some eyebrows among fans. Perhaps this wasn't the look Epic Games was going for, three days into its impressive Chapter 4 revamp.
"We're aware the 'Vaulted a Year or More' section was briefly present in and is now missing from tonight's Item Shop," Epic Games' said in a typically cryptic acknowledgement. "We'll continue to offer different versions of this section in the future."
Epic Games has for years now regularly licensed music tracks and noticeably credited dance move creators for its long list of emotes, song tracks and musical performances. Everything from ancient internet meme Numa Numa Guy to Louis Theroux's Jiggle Jiggle Tiktok trend is available.
The game's early legal issues marked something of a sea change in the games industry - which had previously featured dance emotes in a number of titles without complaint. (I distinctly remember buying the Carlton Dance in Destiny 1, albeit with different music.)
Fortnite has never refunded or blocked the use of any in-game emotes, though its refusal to re-release them has been seen by fans as a deliberate decision not to reignite old controversies.
It seems unlikely we'll see Tidy back on sale in Fortnite any time soon.