Despite the fervor for both Netflix's Arcane and Fortnite continuing to climb since the two collaborated back in 2021, it seems that highly-requested skins won't be making a comeback anytime soon.
Both Jinx and Vi made their Fortnite debut shortly after the first season aired, and it's officially been over 1,100 days since either of them were available to purchase. We've had an entire second season of Arcane since then, one which seemed to be equally as well-received as its predecessor. Yet, the two protagonists have still laid dormant inside Fortnite's vaults.
They've been great partners, but we haven't been able to find the right fit to bring the Arcane skins back and it unfortunately won't be happening in the foreseeable future.
Marc Merrill, Riot CEO
That won't be changing in the near future, either, according to Riot co-founder Marc Merrill. I guess the team's been getting a whole lotta noise about whether the skins are coming back, since he took to Twitter to basically say sorry, but nope.
"Rewinding back to 2021, when we first teamed up with Epic to bring Jinx and Vi to Fortnite, it was a new kind of crossover for us and we hope it helped make S1 launch feel truly special," he wrote. "Since then, Fortnite has evolved a ton with new experiences and collabs, and we've had a lot of conversations with Epic about what might be possible.
"They've been great partners, but we haven't been able to find the right fit to bring the Arcane skins back and it unfortunately won't be happening in the foreseeable future. We know there's been a lot of love for these—and we really appreciate how much you all care and how much effort you've put into advocating for their return. If anything changes in the future, we'll let you know ASAP!"
Now I'm no detective, but "a lot of conversations" and "haven't been able to find the right fit" certainly sounds like one or both sides aren't quite bringing their A-game here. I wonder if it's a timing thing, a financial thing or a licensing thing—probably all three, in reality—but it seems a shame that Riot and Epic weren't able to cap off an excellent second season with a re-run.
I can only imagine this'll continue to be an issue as Epic continues to swallow up just about damn near every franchise and celebrity it can get its hands on, and certain skins will become all the more lucrative. I've mercifully been spared from the Arcane hype, so I'm not personally downbeat about this one in particular, but I still can't help but feel for the more recent fans who're wanting to get their hands on these.
Virtual scarcity is never fun, even in something as trivial as a videogame, and who knows? Maybe all this noise might prompt the two to get back to discussions and do a re-release when season three of Arcane rolls around.
