Free Fortnite skins lead massive pre-order bonus push on Epic Games Store

This year, 40 games will launch on EGS with Fortnite pre-order bonuses

Back in 2020, if you purchased Borderlands 3 via the Epic Games Store, you got a bundle of free Fortnite cosmetics that included a Psycho Bandit skin. At the time, it was a good incentive to snag your game through Epic's storefront if you were playing on PC. For Fortnite fans, it was an easy decision — and one Epic is finally turning into a regular thing.

Over the last seven years, Epic Games has only offered Fortnite cosmetics as a pre-order bonus on four video games. Beginning in 2026, though, that number is skyrocketing. Speaking to Polygon about the Epic Games Store 2025 Year in Review, vice president and general manager of EGS, Steve Allison, revealed that 40 different games released in 2026 would include Fortnite items as a "gift with purchase," and there are even more on the way.

"There'll basically be a steady drip of these being announced every month and put up in the store," he revealed.

One of the games that will come with Fortnite pre-order bonuses this year is Resident Evil Requiem, which is offering a Grace Ashcrosft bundle that includes a skin if you order via EGS. Likewise, if you order Crimson Desert, the upcoming action-RPG title from Pearl Abyss, you'll get a Fortnite bundle that includes a character skin. While specific games haven't been confirmed, some of the studios Epic Games will be teaming up with include Capcom, miHoYo, S-Game, MintRocket, and Kakao Games.

There will be up to 100 games a year offering Fortnite items as purchase bonuses. For Allison, this bit of synergy was one of his primary goals when he joined the company back in 2018.

"I've been pushing on this since I got here. I actually talked about it with Tim [Sweeney] before I even took a job on the team," he remembered. "Back when I was at Telltale, we took advantage of Team Fortress 2 hats and cosmetics, and we [gave] them away when you bought Sam and Max and a couple other games... If you bought the game on Steam, you got the hat in Team Fortress 2, and our titles would rocket to the top of the charts."

Allison carried that thought forward to Epic, which resulted in the Borderlands 3 offer — which "crushed," according to the executive. So offering it with far more regularity isn't a surprise. What is, though, is how the bonuses will also be used to appeal to non-Fortnite players.

With the upgraded Epic Games Store launcher experience, Epic is also introducing avatars for users to customize. These avatars will be seen across the Epic Games Store and will replace the single-letter images on the social menu. And, whether you play Fortnite or not, you'll be able to use those pre-order bonuses on your avatars as well. So don't feel too left out if Battle Royale isn't your thing.

The new Epic Games Store launcher will arrive in May or June.